MSG Is (Once Again) Back on the Table

Monosodium glutamate has a poor reputation in the US, which is both unfortunate and based on misinformation. A spate of new cookbooks highlighting its powers is here to awaken our senses.

Making a recent dinner, my wife Elisabeth put together Sohla El-Waylly's “hot and tingly” smashed cucumber salad, a wisp of a recipe that combines favorite ingredients like cukes, chili crisp, salt, sugar, and rice vinegar, along with something less commonly used in our household, MSG. Tucking in, it wasn't a surprise that the salad was good, but the monosodium glutamate gave it an extra savory deliciousness that made me wonder if Elisabeth intentionally set the salad bowl out of my reach.