I’ve got a recipe (for fake chick fil a if you’re curious) which calls for MSG. I went looking at the grocery store, and the asst. manager I asked insisted that MSG is illegal for sale to individual consumers in the US. He seemed to think I was very strange. He asked what I would “even” use it for–perhaps suspecting my plan was nefarious.
Google searches say I should find it at grocery stores, but having been burned once I want to check before trying bagain. Have you bought MSG lately? If so, where?
Try Asian grocery stores or supermarkets with huge ethnic food sections - I’ve seen it sold in pure form in places like that. I can’t say I’ve seen it lately (I haven’t looked), but not all that long ago.
Looking at food labels which proudly proclaim "No MSG!", one would think it was as bad as, say, trans fat, which appears on a similar number of foods (and is often just as misleading).
*Usually with a footnote saying “except that which naturally occurs in yeast extract, soy sauce, etc” (not to mention virtually all protein-containing foods).
Goya has a product called Adobo that I believe is basically MSG with a few spices. Look at the ingredients of any “flavor enhancer” type products and you’ll find some.
Nah, the Goya Adobo doesn’t contain it - at least, the lemon and pepper version certainly doesn’t. That variety is salt, anti-caking agent, powdered garlic, pepper, lemon rind, citric acid, turmeric, oregano, and maybe something else. Great stuff, though.
Yeah, our local “farmer’s market” (really international food) store, carries it in bags up to 5lbs. Holey Molokey. “MSG” in 2" high letters on the front, too. For the discerning palate, no doubt.
If you know anyone in the restaurant business, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it at Restaurant Depot. If there’s one near you, they’d be able to pick it up for you (or you could borrow their card).
Also, I see Sysco sells it in 27oz or 40lb containers. Either way, it’s certainly available to people outside of the manufacturing industry. I know I’ve seen it on the shelves at Restaurant Depot. But if Amazon has it, that might just be easier.
No need to go to restaurant supply stores. Accent Flavor Enhancer is pure MSG. The ingredients read: Monosodium Glutamate. Yes, they still sell it, I just restocked my Accent last week.
And, yes, Goya Adobo doesn’t usually have MSG in it, as I remember, but Goya Sazon does.
People act weird around MSG. I use it relatively regularly in my cooking: if not pure Accent, through a seasoning like Sazon or a bouillon cube or Vegeta (a Croatian vegetable salt kind of thing), etc. Or through other glutamate products like soy sauce, fish sauce, etc. Use it too heavy-handedly, and you do get a bit of a, I dunno how to call it, processed fast-food kind of taste? But a little bit perks up a lot of foods, and I find people mostly favorably to foods I’ve made with just a little kick of MSG.
We have a half pound of MSG in our cupboard right now. Of course it could be ground rat kidneys stones for all I know, I’m just trusting my wife not to poison me. All I know is it makes soup taste yummy. Bought it at a Japanese market, I believe it’s called ‘aji-no-moto’.
For shits and giggles, after you read the ingredients to him, read him is rights and tell him that he is under arrest because the purchase was a sting operation by the FDA.
