4 ms·

I work in restaurants and have seen chefs add two heaping table spoons of it to a pot of soup without hesitating.

MertsA 8y ago
Depending on the size of the pot that might be about right. The problem I have with the studies referenced is that they wildly overestimated MSG intake and their threshold effect was at a level similar to eating one of those heaping tablespoons of MSG by itself with no food. I'm sure MSG produces some noticeable effect at some point but those studies make it seem like the threshold they found was consistent with the amount you could plausibly eat in a normal meal seasoned with MSG.
kazinator 8y ago
That's something like 40 to 50 grams. Say it's an 8 liter pot, serving 16. That's like 2.5g to 3.1g per person, ouch! Then there is glutamate in that pot already from natural sources as well as possibly ingredients like processed meats and whatnot.
- MertsA 8y ago
  No, it's actually more like 24g to ~30g depending on how "heaping" the tablespoons were, you might be thinking of the specific gravity and using that to estimate the weight but an important consideration is that it's in a small crystalline form. 1/4 tsp of MSG is 1.0g which puts a tbsp at 12g. An estimate of only 16 servings is probably a bit on the low side as well. Even assuming all of that, that still only amounts to 24 mg/kg for a 70kg person whereas the paper you referenced indicated there was a threshold effect and used doses of 150 mg/kg.
  - kazinator 8y ago
    > might be thinking of the specific gravity and using that to estimate the weight but an important consideration is that it's in a small crystalline form I'm relying on the density of MSG being similar to that of sugar, and both being in crystalline form, then working from information around the web about the mass of heaped tablespoons of sugar. (I know that not all crystals are of the same shape and not all pack the same. Something with needle-like crystals will end up fairly fluffy, unless mechanically crushed.)

Depending on the size of the pot that might be about right. The problem I have with the studies referenced is that they wildly overestimated MSG intake and their threshold effect was at a level similar to eating one of those heaping tablespoons of MSG by itself with no food. I'm sure MSG produces some noticeable effect at some point but those studies make it seem like the threshold they found was consistent with the amount you could plausibly eat in a normal meal seasoned with MSG.

kazinator 8y ago

That's something like 40 to 50 grams. Say it's an 8 liter pot, serving 16. That's like 2.5g to 3.1g per person, ouch! Then there is glutamate in that pot already from natural sources as well as possibly ingredients like processed meats and whatnot.

MertsA 8y ago
No, it's actually more like 24g to ~30g depending on how "heaping" the tablespoons were, you might be thinking of the specific gravity and using that to estimate the weight but an important consideration is that it's in a small crystalline form. 1/4 tsp of MSG is 1.0g which puts a tbsp at 12g. An estimate of only 16 servings is probably a bit on the low side as well. Even assuming all of that, that still only amounts to 24 mg/kg for a 70kg person whereas the paper you referenced indicated there was a threshold effect and used doses of 150 mg/kg.
- kazinator 8y ago
  > might be thinking of the specific gravity and using that to estimate the weight but an important consideration is that it's in a small crystalline form I'm relying on the density of MSG being similar to that of sugar, and both being in crystalline form, then working from information around the web about the mass of heaped tablespoons of sugar. (I know that not all crystals are of the same shape and not all pack the same. Something with needle-like crystals will end up fairly fluffy, unless mechanically crushed.)