3 ms·

>>To nobody’s surprise, MSG makes food taste better. Although replicable, this is wholly unimpressive. To earn your Michelin star, you’ll need to make your umam

by elil17 3y ago

>>To nobody’s surprise, MSG makes food taste better. Although replicable, this is wholly unimpressive. To earn your Michelin star, you’ll need to make your umami masterpiece with mushrooms and elk liver and sardine skins. I liked the overall article but this section seemed off to me. People at the top of their field know when and how to "cheat" - which is why Rick Barry is in the hall of fame for his "granny" style free throw shooting. It's also why Michelin starred restaurants do use MSG (https://cnaluxury.channelnewsasia.com/people/why-are-these-asian-chefs-proudly-embracing-msg-183581 https://cnaluxury.channelnewsasia.com/people/why-are-these-a...).

Eric_WVGG 3y ago
this reminds me of one of Bourdain’s stories about being in culinary school… there was some kind of test where they had to make a basic broth, and he kept a tube of lobster paste smuggled in his sleeve
gowld 3y ago
But you need the mushroom and elk to satisfy the fallacious superficial gatekeeping of the reviewers.
- elil17 3y ago
  This is simply not true. Numerous Michelin-starred restaurants offer relatively simple food. The most famous example is perhaps Liao Fan Hawker Chan, who serves mostly chicken and rice with soy sauce.
  - satvikpendem 3y ago
    They lost their Michelin star actually. They were pretty decent when I went but nothing exceptional compared to other stalls.
- jfengel 3y ago
  I'm not really sure what gate is being kept here. The reviewers know what they like. If you like that thing too, you go get that. If you don't like that thing, you don't have to purchase it. Their tastes are just as superficial as fans of a sports team or movie franchise. I absolve you of the need to like the things that rich people like, if that helps. There's nothing there to be kept out of. There are plenty of foods to like in the world, and if the sneering of fancy restaurant critics bothers you, you have my permission to flip them the bird. Preferably a free-range heritage breed bird.
- zem 3y ago
  this seems more like what people think about "fancy cooking" than the reality. if a chef has used mushrooms in a dish it's not because they want to get the glutamates the hard way, it's because the mushrooms have other flavours and textures that they wanted to incorporate into the overall dish. if all they wanted from the mushroom was the msg they would have used msg.

by elil17 3y ago

Eric_WVGG 3y ago

this reminds me of one of Bourdain’s stories about being in culinary school… there was some kind of test where they had to make a basic broth, and he kept a tube of lobster paste smuggled in his sleeve

gowld 3y ago

But you need the mushroom and elk to satisfy the fallacious superficial gatekeeping of the reviewers.

elil17 3y ago
This is simply not true. Numerous Michelin-starred restaurants offer relatively simple food. The most famous example is perhaps Liao Fan Hawker Chan, who serves mostly chicken and rice with soy sauce.
- satvikpendem 3y ago
  They lost their Michelin star actually. They were pretty decent when I went but nothing exceptional compared to other stalls.
jfengel 3y ago
I'm not really sure what gate is being kept here. The reviewers know what they like. If you like that thing too, you go get that. If you don't like that thing, you don't have to purchase it. Their tastes are just as superficial as fans of a sports team or movie franchise. I absolve you of the need to like the things that rich people like, if that helps. There's nothing there to be kept out of. There are plenty of foods to like in the world, and if the sneering of fancy restaurant critics bothers you, you have my permission to flip them the bird. Preferably a free-range heritage breed bird.
zem 3y ago
this seems more like what people think about "fancy cooking" than the reality. if a chef has used mushrooms in a dish it's not because they want to get the glutamates the hard way, it's because the mushrooms have other flavours and textures that they wanted to incorporate into the overall dish. if all they wanted from the mushroom was the msg they would have used msg.