• thisbenzingring@lemmy.today
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        1 month ago

        Chinese food as we know, everywhere except China, is a purely American invention. It’s history is really interesting, especially how the restaurant owners of the 80s convinced everyone MSG was poison.

          • Quetzalcutlass@lemmy.world
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            1 month ago

            It’s psychosomatic. MSG is also in tomatoes, mushrooms, and tons of savory salted snacks such as Doritos. None of those tend to trigger the symptoms people claim to have after eating Chinese food.

              • Miles O'Brien@startrek.website
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                1 month ago

                Personal anecdote from cooking for years for a variety of people of varying intelligence, background, and countries:

                Most people claim it gives them headaches and nausea.

                They “know” this because they feel it every time they eat (american) “Chinese food”

                Not a single one has ever had either symptom after eating my cooking that has a little sprinkled in.

                Now, I have tried to prove a point to some by informing them (many hours after the food, and asking about how they feel) that they in fact ingested MSG without issue and had no symptoms, usually to rounds of spontaneous nausea and headaches that had apparently gone unnoticed for hours until just then.

                It could be that ingesting a shit-load of greasy, oily, carbs and over-eating that caused their nausea and headaches when they gorged themselves on “Chinese” food, but no, they know it’s the MSG.

                • xx3rawr@sh.itjust.works
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                  1 month ago

                  Another personal anecdote from a non-American: My parents never buy MSG. When I did, they freaked out a little then I have to explain it’s not bad other than another source of sodium we need to watch. I need to point out that all of our staple liquid seasonings are filled with added MSG: soy sauce, vinegar, patis.

                  Despite being Asian, this happened because my shitass country often rely on shitass recommendations from the US health department. Another example is the ban on magic sugar, which is also propaganda by US sugar manufacurers.

                • pelespirit@sh.itjust.works
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                  1 month ago

                  What is MSG made from? Could it be that they’re allergic to the base and that there is a threshold? I hope to fuck you aren’t a scientist and you are an amazingly shitty person.

            • Supervisor194@lemmy.world
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              1 month ago

              “Ranch” flavor comes basically 100% from salt and MSG. There is a microscopic amount of herbs that make next to no difference. Ask anyone who thinks MSG is bad for you if they have cut out Ranch dressing for some hilarity. (May not apply to non-Americans).

                • Supervisor194@lemmy.world
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                  1 month ago

                  Ranch has more salt than anything and more MSG than garlic, look at the ingredients on a pouch. Ingredients are listed by order of volume. It has more corn starch than onion. It has basically traces of anything else. I know this because I spent not a small amount of time replicating Ranch dressing.

                  Although there are a hundred MSG-conspiracy-nut websites that will tell you you don’t need MSG to make Ranch dressing, there is no Ranch dressing recipe that tastes anything at all like Ranch without MSG. Full stop.