For a small percentage of readers of this blog, MSG might bring to mind the Michael Shenker Group, a heavy metal group formed in 1979 around a virtuosic guitarist. I imagine most will think instead of Monosodium Glutamate, a flavour enhancer that is often demonised as a great harm to health.

In recent years, I’ve seen quite a lot of arguments that it isn’t as bad as many once thought. It simply captures the ‘umami’ flavour that also comes through natural ingredients like mushrooms and allows you to enhance the savoury nature of a dish. Often it allows you to use less salt, another taste that enhances flavour but which can have negative effects if used in excess.

I picked up a packet of this fine white powder recently and have been experimenting with how to use it effectively. What is enough to make a difference but not so much that it makes the dish simply taste like a highly processed food (the type of thing that often overuses MSG)? I’m still getting there but hope to get it under control as another element in my seasoning arsenal.