What people say about MSG
“The biggest old wives’ tale is that MSG is bad for you. That is complete and utter nonsense. There is not one scientific paper to prove that. These beliefs come from the 1970s when some journalist wrote about it. With salt there is a 50/50 argument but there is no argument with MSG… glutamate is a really important element of taste.”
Heston Blumenthal
Pioneer of molecular gastronomy and owner of the three-Michelin-starred Fat Duck.
“I like MSG. I don’t react to it – nobody does. It’s a lie, man. You know what causes Chinese restaurant syndrome? Racism. ‘Ooh I have a headache; it must have been the Chinese guy.’”
Anthony Bourdain
Chef, writer and host of CNN's Parts Unknown.
“Sometimes, you don’t want a dish to be cheesy or tomatoey; sometimes you just want something to taste like itself, only transcendently better. For that, nothing but pure MSG will do. It is to savory flavor what refined sugar is to sweet.”
Helen Rosner
Lead food writer for the New Yorker.
“Things just taste better with MSG, whether it’s Western food or Cantonese food… Salt, sugar and MSG – I always joke that they’re the Chinese Trinity of seasonings.”
Calvin Eng
Chef and owner of Brooklyn-based Cantonese restaurant Bonnie’s, nominated for the James Beard award.
“My three kitchen staples are kosher salt, MSG, and black pepper. If you gave me those three items, I can make anything taste good – even dessert.”
Grant Achatz
Pioneer of molecular gastronomy and owner of the three-Michelin-starred Alinea in Chicago.
“I grew up on MSG by the buckets. Go to any Asian home: It’s there next to the sugar and salt. It’s a flavour that’s ingrained in my soul.”
Roy Choi
Founder of Kogi, a Korean-Mexican taco truck in LA, and host of Netflix's The Chef Show.
“Aged parmesan cheese and aged beef have some of the highest levels of MSG of any food we’re going to eat, and that’s part of what makes them so delicious… In the case of MSG, the record is clear. There is no evidence that MSG causes the symptoms of the ‘Chinese restaurant syndrome’.”
Harold McGee
Science writer and author of On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen.