I didn’t even know umami was a flavor when I was growing up. All I knew was that sometimes, I’d sneak downstairs in the middle of the night to taste some soy sauce. Or Worcestershire. Really, like scratching an itch. Grated Parmesan worked. Sometimes, just a little sprinkle of Spike or Vegit would do it.
In my early teens, in the early '80’s, I spent some time in Australia… You you what I’m going to say next, right?
VEGEMITE!
Love it love it love it. That, and of course the view near Bondi beach, were burned forever into my adolescent brain.
So here’s the deal: As far as I can tell, I was just born with this huge need for MSG. Or hydrolyzed vegetable protein. Or used-up yeast. A couple of days ago I was at the store and bought some Accent seasoning (pure MSG) and some fake (soy) bacon bits.
Yes, just so I could mix them together and get that taste in my mouth, as it were.
I’ve heard of pregnant woman who craved to eat dirt and had real nutritional issues, but why do I crave this crap? Some folks have a sweet tooth, is there such a thing as me?
For what it’s worth, I’m one of those who can’t deal with fresh cilantro. Vegemite right off of the spoon, sure. Even a tiny bit of cilantro? Yucky.
Well, it is one of the 20 basic aminoacids, as well as a neurotransmitter. Your body needs it. While there are many sources of it (basically anything that is high protein will be a good source), it’s also possible that there are times when you’re “low” on it, depending on how you eat. You may be able to modify your diet to include a greater diversity of proteins, and thus avoid those cravings. It worked for me with some minerals.
Well yes, but only in the CNS I think, and I doubt very much whether it can get through the blood-brain barrier by itself (if it did, you’d be high every time you ate a steak or some cheese), so just eating a bunch of the stuff (within reason anyway, spoonfuls of MSG might be different) isn’t likely to have much direct effect on neural function.
Also, glutamate is abundant in pretty much all protein sources, and anyway, your body can readily synthesize it out of other amino-acids in the unlikely event that you run short of it. Thus, I don’t think a craving for umami is likely to be signal for a specific deficiency of glutamate. It might be a sign of a general dietary protein deficiency.
Personally, as a Brit I am not so keen on Vegemite, but I absolutely LOVE Marmite (semi-carnally), and will only stay in the U.S.A. so long as I am assured of a reliable source of supply.
Hey! was this Firefox spell-checker written by a Kangaroo Shagger or something? It does not recognize the sacred “Marmite” as a word, but knows abouts the half-assed Antipodean imitation! :mad:
I think we might be related (apart from the coriander (cilantro) thing - I love the taste of fresh coriander leaves).
I love Marmite (in fact I have just this moment finished a big plate of Marmite on toast!), soy sauce, Worcester sauce etc etc. As a kid, when I used to eat Pot Noodles (which came with a little sachet of soy sauce) I would suck the sauce right out of the packet. I used to eat Oxo cubes right out of the box. Those crispy bacon strips you can buy to put in sandwiches and salads? I eat them like crisps.
I REALLY DON’T NEED ANYONE SENDING ME FRINGE ANTI-MSG CRAP.
It’s like I pissed on an anthill, or threw a rock at a beehive.
Dude, whoever you are, I grew up in Boulder; I know health food, and I know fucking bullshit.
You do know the place you use for your food gospel is ONE CLICK AWAY from a rant about how Obama’s microchips in EnergyStar rated appliances in your home are monitored by satellite, right?
Fuck. I think I found a new idiot filter.
“Want some more MSG on that?”
I do wish I could enjoy cilantro, it sounds yummy. All I get is dumpster juice on my tacos when I forget to ask 'em to leave it off.
I thought I was the only one! I’d nibble on beef bouillion cubes and go om nom nom as a tiny child.
Nowadays just thinking about it gives me heartburn – if it weren’t for that I’d probably still be stealing a cube occasionally.
As it is, I still lurves me some Vegemite on buttered toast. And I’ll cheerfully eat a pinch or two of cilantro in my food (but if I try to eat it by itself it’s soapy).
Darth----They have Marmite at the Mission HEB–
I can’t stand cilantro. They put fucking bouquets of the stuff on everything here. They used it rarely in El Paso. Tastes like a garnish of soap. I ate enough of that (soap) as a smart-alecky kid!
You gotta try black garlic–just had some ordered from cookingenthusiast—
Most people’s genes recognize cilantro as either disgustingly dirty-dishwatery or harmless and tasty. Myself and a few others taste mild soapiness in it but like it anyway.
It’s taken up by the astrocytes through specific transporters and converted to non-neuroactive glutamine right away. You’d have to inject a bunch of it directly into your brain in order for it to be floating around. You can also make it out of alpha-ketoglutarate, which is a component of the Krebs cycle, plus nitrogen from other amino acids. So no worries about getting depleted, really. Your body needs it, so it’ll make it out of almost anything else you eat.
Hey, hellpaso, where does HEB keep it? I looked all over the place.
Also, and this might be better asked in GQ, are there really discreet stores that sell specifically to Seventh Day Adventists? I’ve been told that’s one way to find Marmite in Texas.
Well, I adore and passionately crave BOTH MSG and cilantro.
I snag sips of Worcestershire sauce all the time and cook with it a great deal. There is a Mexican place nearby that makes their salsa with what must be a 1:1 ratio of cilantro to veggies. I have been known to eat it by the spoonful with no chips, tacos, nothing.
The MSG gives that depth of flavor that I need while cilantro provides that bright freshness I also desire.
This means that having an awesome steak covered in chimichurri makes me weak in the knees.
