Due to the large number of ethnic groups in China and the huge population base, the cuisines of all ethnic groups are gathered together to form a unique Chinese cuisine, and China can be said to be the country with the most, most complex and diverse diet in the world.
But no matter how the diet changes, in fact, they are not separated from their origins, that is to say, the birth of delicious food is inseparable from the addition of various condiments!
Among the many types of condiments, the most common one is "monosodium glutamate". This transparent state of crystals can improve the deliciousness of food.
However, the rumors about MSG in life have never been broken, some people say that it is a chemical product that has no benefit to the body, some people say that MSG is not as nutritious as chicken essence, and some people say that MSG may cause cancer.
Similar to such rumors, a casual search on the Internet will reveal all sorts of plausible analyses. But is MSG really just that bad? A few rumors about MSG, it's time for you to take a look:
1. Is MSG a chemical? wrong
Msg this condiment first appeared in 1908 in Japan, Japan is a typical coastal country, the local biochemist in the process of studying the seafood "kelp", extracted from the kelp sodium salt component, clinically known as sodium glutamate.
Studies have found that the reason why kelp has a unique umami taste is due to the free state of glutamic acid it carries;
Glutamic acid is not only widely present in a variety of foods, but also in the human body, which is one of the compounds that cell metabolism must not lack, and belongs to a kind of neurotransmitter.
Even if you don't get glutamic acid from food, the human body will produce glutamic acid autonomously. Therefore, when sodium glutamate was extracted and research found that it could increase the deliciousness of food and be beneficial to the human body, Japan began to generate sodium glutamate in large quantities, which eventually became the monosodium glutamate bought in China.
However, most of the MSG purchased in China today is not a substance extracted from kelp. Instead, various grains are used as raw materials, such as rice and millet, which are repeatedly processed and become crystalline MONOS glutamate.
2. Will MSG heat cause cancer? rumor!
There are many so-called popular science articles, all claim that in the process of food processing, when the temperature exceeds 120 ° C, MSG will produce a substance called sodium pyroglutamate. Moreover, it is also repeatedly mentioned on the instructions for MSG that it is recommended that you add MSG before the food comes out of the pot, so many people naturally equate sodium pyroglutamate with carcinogenicity.
But in fact, the essence of sodium pyroglutamate is not a carcinogen, so far, no clinical authoritative research and experiments can explain its carcinogenicity.
The reason why the MSG instructions will emphasize that we should add MSG before coming out of the pot is because MSG will produce sodium pyroglutamate after repeated heating at high temperatures, which will not cause cancer, but it will make MSG lose its role in refreshing and increasing flavor, and reduce the taste of food.
3. Is MSG inferior to chicken essence?
Many people have been seduced by the name of chicken essence, coupled with the special yellow color of chicken essence, many people think that chicken essence is the product of chicken soup concentration, which is more nutritious than monosodium glutamate.
As everyone knows, chicken essence is actually a product of artificial synthesis, which belongs to the compound condiment, which not only contains sodium glutamate, but also starch, sugar and other raw materials. Therefore, chicken essence and MSG are essentially no different, and both can play a freshness effect.
Written in the end: In a word, MSG is an ordinary condiment, it is neither a product of chemical synthesis, nor is it carcinogenic, so you can feel free to add.
However, it should be mentioned here that MSG also contains sodium ions, so you should pay attention to the addition of salt and other condiments when cooking to avoid excessive intake of sodium ions.