The issue I have with MSG is that if you put it in everything, it becomes your new norm. I would ideally like to minimize how much MSG I eat, and keep it feeling special.
I reckon not quite “any other” spice, especially since that raises the question of what is and isn’t a spice, but I suppose the principle is mostly true. One caveat would be that spices can be good for you, whereas AFAIK MSG is generally just neutral.
Replace the word MSG with salt and see how dumb that sounds. Adding MSG isn’t a flavor, it just brings out the flavor in the foods it’s a part of. It’s not actually “special”, it is perfectly normal and just makes all your food taste better in general.
It does kinda work with salt, and with sugar. Just because I’m used to salt doesn’t mean people don’t have a tendency to use too much salt.
MSG is naturally occurring in a lot of things, including tomatoes, and so are sugars - and in the same vein, I don’t want to be dependent on adding more of it to enjoy the taste of food. Of course, it’s a bit late for me, the best time to be getting used to simpler flavors is as a kid, but I thankfully wasn’t getting that much extra MSG, so I can at least appreciate food without that additive.
Dating someone with a dietary need for low sodium intake meant I started cooking with less salt. After a few months of that, foods I used to like (such as plain potato chips) seemed too salty to me. I buy the lightly-salted versions of snacks now, when possible.
A bonus side effect - by cooking with less salt, I’ve been exploring other options for seasoning. I use a much wider range of spices/herbs now than I did before, leading to more interesting and complex dishes. I’d call that a win-win!
The issue I have with MSG is that if you put it in everything, it becomes your new norm. I would ideally like to minimize how much MSG I eat, and keep it feeling special.
Indeed, same with salt or any other spice!
I reckon not quite “any other” spice, especially since that raises the question of what is and isn’t a spice, but I suppose the principle is mostly true. One caveat would be that spices can be good for you, whereas AFAIK MSG is generally just neutral.
White people are never beating the allegations
Replace the word MSG with salt and see how dumb that sounds. Adding MSG isn’t a flavor, it just brings out the flavor in the foods it’s a part of. It’s not actually “special”, it is perfectly normal and just makes all your food taste better in general.
You can absolutely ruin your palette with oversalting, or over-MSG-ing your food though.
Adding too much and adding to everything are not the same.
It does kinda work with salt, and with sugar. Just because I’m used to salt doesn’t mean people don’t have a tendency to use too much salt.
MSG is naturally occurring in a lot of things, including tomatoes, and so are sugars - and in the same vein, I don’t want to be dependent on adding more of it to enjoy the taste of food. Of course, it’s a bit late for me, the best time to be getting used to simpler flavors is as a kid, but I thankfully wasn’t getting that much extra MSG, so I can at least appreciate food without that additive.
Eh, it’s never too late. Our palates can adjust.
Dating someone with a dietary need for low sodium intake meant I started cooking with less salt. After a few months of that, foods I used to like (such as plain potato chips) seemed too salty to me. I buy the lightly-salted versions of snacks now, when possible.
A bonus side effect - by cooking with less salt, I’ve been exploring other options for seasoning. I use a much wider range of spices/herbs now than I did before, leading to more interesting and complex dishes. I’d call that a win-win!