In Praise of MSG

I am just finishing my lunch and contemplating what a marvel msg is. I just ate a few too many barbecue potato chips, enough to make my tongue tingle a bit, and it got me to thinking about what msg can do for flavor. It is powerful stuff, and needs to be used in moderation, but it is really the unsung hero of the kitchen.

Now, I don't have a bottle of msg in my kitchen, but I use it in other subtle ways: in the fermented anchovies of Worcester sauce, in dried seaweed flakes, in Maggi sauce (I guess it's called a sauce), etc. Obviously some folks are allergic to it, and should stay away, but for those who are not allergic, it is time to rehabilitate msg into the canon of valid kitchen seasonings.

Now, if my foodie friends read this I am probably going to have to defend myself on charges of heresy, but I will stand by my defense of our noble friend, monosodium glutamate.