My mom is extremely sensitive to MSG. When she eats any food – not just Chinese take-out – that contains even a small amount of MSG, she gets a severe migraine headache that lasts three to four days and is accompanied by nausea and frequent vomiting.
We figured out what was going on in about the same way lieu did. Mom got these headaches about twice a month, always starting on a Sunday and ending approximately midweek. We finally realized the connection between that and our twice per month Saturday night meals at a local Chinese restaurant. For headaches that occurred when we ate something besides Chinese food, we were able to connect it to other MSG-containing foods; for example, a marinara sauce that used condensed chicken broth as a base, or certain salad dressings like Ranch.
The so called Chinese Restaurant Syndrome is allegedly caused by MSG but there is no conclusive evidence so far.
Regarding the OP, I reckon the use of MSG in inexpensive Chinese restaurants is to make the food taste better. I suppose you can call that taste “umami,” but I don’t know know what it is since it’s Japanese.
puubs, MSG definitely has a taste. In fact, a very distinctive taste. If you have ever compared the taste of fresh and frozen chicken, you’ll see what I mean. The Chinese name means “essence of taste.”
MSG was originally isolated from a seaweed used in traditional Japanese and Chinese cooking. It’s particularly common in Chinese restaurants in the U.S. because of the economic niche they occupy, which encourages cheap ingredients and predictable flavors.
