What are The Ingredients in MSG?
MSG or monosodium glutamate is a popular seasoning product which is used in many cuisines, the most prominent probably being Japanese, Chinese, and Korean cuisines amongst others. As this component is used so frequently in Chinese food preparation, this seasoning has been controversial as to whether it is healthy for a person or not. Still, if one knows what MSG is made of, it is quite simple to disregard such statements as groundless.
This blog aims to answer the question: What are the major ingredients in MSG that make it up and what are their roles that make it stand out?
What is MSG Made of?
In its simplest form, MSG e621 is a flavor enhancer which is made up of the sodium salts of glutamic acid. However glutamic acid has been produced by different methods in the past. For instance, in 1846, a German scientist by the name of Ritthausen was able to isolate glutamic acid from wheat gluten through a process that he carried out.
The discovery of MSG goes back to 1908 as credited to a Japanese scientist, Kikune Ikeda who isolated the glutamic acid from seaweed and later on isolated the sodium salt of the glutamic acid. Especially the taste of the salt forced Ikeda to take this process forward which led to the distilling of Ajinomoto the constituents of which included monosodium glutamate.
Nowadays, there are so many names for msg seasoning these include; Ajinomoto, msg, monosodium glutamate, and sodium glutamate among others. Msg is a great seasoning food enhancer often marketed as msg powder and used significantly in various parts of the world today The main constituents of msg today are the monosodium glutamate crystals derived from grains that have been fermented.
Chemical Composition of MSG
The chemical makeup and structure of MSG make it the complicated flavor powder that it is with a very special taste. When disseminating the chemical structure of MSG which is C5H8NO4Na we can show that this chemical compound is made of the following five chemical components; carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen oxygen, and sodium.
The basic ingredient of MSG is glutamic acid which has the chemical formula C5H9NO4, while a stable crispy product of MSG is called glutamate with the chemical formula C5H7NO4. Before entering further discussion, it will be essential to acknowledge certain facts primarily. These ingredients in MSG are derived from and are in essence what they are.
For instance, glutamic acid is one of the twenty amino acids that are existent in the human body. But it falls among the amino acids that fall under non-essential amino acids. MSG does not have to be consumed for the human body to get glutamic acid and there are two means through which it is derived if not eating MSG.
- To start with its presence can be seen in certain food products particularly those that have some protein content.
- Secondly, it is a fact that glutamic acid is synthesized within the human body though the person may not take any food with msg.
Glutamic acid has the important function of acting as a helper to the proteins formed in the body; it is also an ingredient of the body’s metabolic process which is why it is often used to be added to some of the most popular foods. Apart from this it also plays a role of a neurotransmitter in the working of the brain.
Likewise, glutamate which is an ingredient that should be included in MSG products can naturally occur in different types of food such as cheese, mushrooms, tomatoes and the rest.
As such in this form glutamate combines easily with sodium ions because glutamate ion is negatively charged thus forming MSG. That is where glutamate comes into play and it is mostly responsible for the taste of MSG offering foods the umami flavor that is characteristic of MSGs to food, including fast foods with msg.
It is the bonding of sodium to the acid that makes the MSG obtain the unique valuable property of being salty. Moreover, the ionic sodium aids maltose in the dissolving of the glutamate in water to make MSG-soluble seasoning that can be easily dissolved to be incorporated in all types of foods realizing a uniform flavor to the whole food product.
Water molecules even though not an ingredient per se are another component that is an integral part of MSG. The water molecules are contained within the crystallized structure of the msg including Chinese msg that breaks away from the msg structure instead of bonding with any form of liquid and causes the MSG to dissolve easily through breakdown into glutamate and sodium ions. When this is done it increases the likelihood of the MSG in the food to distribute evenly within the food to produce a standard Umami flavor.
What Does MSG Taste Like?
Why many people use MSG in different foods is the unique taste of msg that is imparted onto foods to which it is added. The umami flavor is most related to Japanese cuisine, and within this culture, the word umami means a pleasant taste that resembles a meaty taste, savory taste, or even a broth taste. However, umami taste is a lot less pronounced than sweet or salty tastes it is also a whole lot more profound and contains the potential to turn good food right into magnificent exceptional food merely with a pinch. This increase in flavor is that which adds to food what is accepted to be a highly desirable taste and what has equally been referred to as ‘body’.This complexity is what makes the umami flavor such a unique flavor-enhancing element which can be provided by adding msg to food.
MSG has this umami taste, making it rich in that aspect, and this is why when it is used in even a small amount it enhances the taste of all meals, and thus the experience of the consumer is increased. MSG has such a light taste yet it is rather rank: this means that while this ingredient adds a naturally perfect umami touch to any dish, if overdone MSG uses can have the opposite effect, of making the taste too overpowering.
For example, MSG has such an intense umami flavor that if it has been dissolved in water in a ratio of 1:3000 the umami flavor can still be distinguished. While the salty flavor has no solubility in water and the sweet has solubility when sugar is added to 200 times its volume of water the umami flavor is of higher strength and concentration which shows that users should use it in a small quantity while cooking with MSG.
Some products such as mushrooms, certain varieties of cheese, meats, and ripe tomatoes contain small amounts of umami as natural glutamate-containing compounds. However, since these naturally contain glutamate and have not been processed and concentrated through the fermentation process which is used to make msg the flavor is not intense and does not lie heavily on consumers’ palates.
Production Method of MSG
Today MSG has been incorporated into all sectors of the food industry from home preparation, food production, and processing to different snack and convenience food products.
The first step in the production of MSG is fermentation. In this process, raw products like cornstarch sugar cane, etc, are mixed with the specific kinds of bacteria to ferment the carbohydrate sugars in the food into glutamic acid.
The next process is called the extraction step after which the glutamic acid and the fermentation liquid are filtered and crystallized to get pure glutamic acid.
After this, the produced product undergoes a process of neutralization in which sodium hydroxide is used to produce monosodium glutamate. After the neutralization completion, the MSG undergoes through crystallization process and then passes through cleaning and lastly through the drying process making it an odorless white powdery substance.
Conclusion
MSG is prepared from very simple products in the form of sodium salt of Glutamic acid or Glutamate. However, it should be noted that the efficiency of the final result is predicated solely on how all of these components are infused and how the making of the end product is executed. To reach this level of high-quality MSG, it is advised that the additive is sourced from reputable dealers who include but are not limited to large international food additive sellers such as Mondstar.
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