There are many ways to get that savoury, umami taste. One of them is the use of pure umami seasoning, which is also called Monosodium Glutamate and known as MSG.
Containing 2/3 less sodium than table salt, MSG may very well be the answer to reducing the sodium content of your food without sacrificing its taste.
The secret to making your dishes extra delicious is UMAMI! It brings out the best in all the ingredients, giving your food a richer, fuller, and more satisfying taste.
Every story and fact about umami that you would want to know. You’ll appreciate this unique 5th basic taste of ours even more!
Umami is recognised as the 5th basic taste.
5th basic taste:
Sweet, Sour, Salty, bitter and umami.
Umami was discovered as the 5th basic taste that enhances the savoury flavour and palatability of low-salt diets. It is the ultimate natural solution for salt reduction!
Umami Substances in Food
Scientifically, Umami is the taste of glutamate, an amino acid that is one of the building blocks of protein. This glutamate occurs naturally in the human body and in many delicious foods that we eat.
Chicken, beef, fish, shellfish, tomatoes, mushrooms, seaweeds
Less sodium soy sauce and of course, for the purest form of UMAMI, simply sprinkle a pinch of MSG over your food.
It spreads across the tongue
It lasts longer than the other basic tastes
It provides a mouth-watering sensation
The answer is pretty simple: Umami enhances the flavours of food by stimulating taste receptors. It harmonises the tastes of all the ingredients in a dish to produce a full-bodied blend of mouth-watering sensation. It makes your food richer, fuller, and meatier.
Umami is also easy to achieve! Whether intentionally or unintentionally, we often add umami boosters to our cooking.
Umami was first identified by Japanese scientist Dr. Kikunae Ikeda. While enjoying a bowl of kelp broth called kombu dashi, he noticed that the savoury flavour was distinct from the four basic tastes of sweet, sour, bitter, and salty. He then named this additional taste UMAMI, which is a combination of the Japanese words “Umai” (meaning “delicious”) and “Mi” (meaning “taste”), and its taste is often described as meaty and savoury.
How do UMAMI and MSG Work Together to Enhance Flavour?
UMAMI enhances flavor by spreading across the tongue, creating a long-lasting, mouth-watering taste. MSG amplifies this effect, making dishes even more savory and delicious. Let’s find out more about MSG!
MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) is a purified form of glutamate combined with sodium. It provides the same Umami taste as natural glutamate found in foods.
MSG maintains the palatability of less-sodium meals.
By adding MSG, the sodium level in the food can be reduced by up to 40%*.
MSG has been classed as safe by the US FDA and the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives.
* The percentage of salt reduction depends on the food used and its condition.
Today, instead of extracting and crystallising MSG from seaweed broth, MSG is produced through fermentation of plant-based ingredients such as sugarcane or tapioca. This fermentation process is similar to that used to make yogurt and vinegar.
THE Fermentation Process
First the sugarcane is extracted as glucose and sent to a fermentation tank, to which fermentative microbes are then added. These microbes consume the glucose, releasing glutamic acid, which through neutralisation is turned into a solution that contains MSG.
This solution is then decolorised and filtered, resulting in a pure MSG solution.
This pure solution is crystallised using an evaporator to produce the final product – MSG.
Glutamate can be found abundantly in protein-rich foods.
MSG provides savoury deliciousness, with less sodium.
MSG is safe to consume.
MSG is used as a substitute for “extra salt” in processed food.
Are you guilty of these MSG Myths?
For more information, download the leaflet here:
FAQ
MSG stands for monosodium glutamate, also known as sodium glutamic acid or glutamate (an amino acid). Glutamate is produced in the human body and is even contained in breast milk, which is the main source of infant nutrition. Glutamate is also found in a variety of foods, including vegetables (examples: tomatoes) and protein foods such as meat, fish, and cheese.
MSG is made from natural ingredients such as sugarcane or tapioca through a fermentation process.
This has to go back to the 1970s in the United States, when rumors circulated in the neighbourhood: “When eating in Chinese restaurants, due to excessive use of seasonings, it is easy for people to experience symptoms such as dry mouth, headaches, and discomfort.” This phenomenon is called Chinese Restaurant Syndrome. The community at the time could not identify the factors related to its occurrence, so MSG became a scapegoat. For years, studies conducted by medical research institutions have failed to show a conclusive link between MSG consumption and adverse effects on health.
Many international safety agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and our nation’s food control department, have confirmed that MSG is safe to use. Similar to the production process for soy sauce or cheese, MSG is made from natural ingredients and fermented naturally.
There is no scientific evidence to support this claim. Migraines or headaches may be caused by other factors.
Many people also think that eating too much MSG will cause thirst, especially after eating at a restaurant or a stall outside. The fact is, many hawkers use different seasonings for cooking, so each of their foods has its own flavour. When a person eats different foods with different flavours, it is inevitable that sodium intake will increase, and foods high in sodium will cause people to feel thirsty. Pure MSG such as AJI-NO-MOTO® can actually help to reduce sodium intake. This is because it contains 2/3 less sodium compared to salt. In other words, using pure MSG to replace some salt in cooking can reduce sodium intake and at the same time, maintain the deliciousness of the food.
There is no scientific evidence to support this statement. Baldness or hair loss may be caused by several factors, namely genetics, stress & social stress, medications, other hair-related factors, such as scalp yeast infection and more.
Yes, scientific and regulatory authorities around the world, including the FDA, the American Medical Association (AMA), the European Commission Scientific Committee for Food, and the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), have reviewed such research on MSG and have repeatedly stressed its safety for the general population, including children and pregnant women.
Both pure MSG and impure MSG (called counterfeit/fake MSG) can be found in the market. Pure MSG must have purity more than 99%. AJI-NO-MOTO® is pure MSG, and it is listed as ‘pure’ on the packaging. Impure MSG may be mixed with sugar, salt, and other flavourings.
AJI-NO-MOTO® is a brand of pure MSG products that provide the 5th basic taste called “umami” after sweet, sour, salty, and bitter.
It’s simple – just use a small quantity before cooking (for marination), during cooking, or after cooking. You don’t need a large amount of MSG, as its purpose is to enhance the taste of food.
Yes, AJI-NO-MOTO® Flavour Enhancer/Monosodium Glutamate produced by Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Berhad has been certified HALAL by JAKIM. Since it started its plant operations in 1965 until today, Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Berhad has always met the HALAL requirements administered by a recognised HALAL certification authority.
Yes, AJI-NO-MOTO® Flavour Enhancer is made from tapioca or sugarcane through the same fermentation process as the process of making soy sauce, cheese or yogurt. AJI-NO-MOTO® does not contain ingredients of animal origin, fish, eggs, honey, onions, garlic, spring onion, or alcohol.
There is no limitation for the use of MSG as a food additive because scientific and regulatory bodies such as the Joint FAO / WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) placed MSG in the safest category of ‘Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) not specified’, based on extensive scientific data.
AJI-NO-MOTO® and salt are different. AJI-NO-MOTO® gives the taste of Umami and its function is to enhance the taste of food. On the other hand, salt adds a salty taste. We encourage salt reduction by using AJI-NO-MOTO® to reduce sodium intake. For instance, instead of using 1 tsp of salt, you may replace ½ tsp of the salt with MSG. With this method, you can reduce the sodium content by 34% and still maintain the deliciousness of the dish.
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