Dashi?

[Noriko]

While I could spend all evening making dashi from scratch (and frankly, since I love to cook, I don't mind), I was wondering if anyone knew of some good instant dashi brands that didn't contain MSG. I hear tha MSG isn't that bad for you and technically, is from nature, but I'm one of those weird organic food people who rather avoid it... I looked through some of the brands at my local Asian market and the ones I looked at all had MSG....

[Please Delete]

I believe that dashi is all about MSG. It is part of what makes dashi, well, dashi. MSG is what creates the 'umami' flavor.

Now, I don't know much about the debates of 'natural' and 'unnatural'/'manmade'/'processed' MSG, but I don't think you are going to find anything without MSG. If you know someone who is sensitive to MSG, you might want to try real dashi, but otherwise, I don't know that you are going to find anything like you are looking for.

-Ii

[madyaas]

MSG is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, and the natural way to get MSG is to combine foods that are rich in glutamic acid. I'd always been suspect of the amount of people who claim to be sensitive to MSG (not saying there aren't), since when it is mixed with water, MSG disassociates into sodium and glutamate ions.

Interestingly, MSG Is in a whole lot of things produced in the US (at least according to wikipedia). Fermentation also produces it, and soy sauce has it too.

[Saiaiko]

Apparently, (and I didn't take notes while she was explaining it) the act of making dashi creates MSG. Solveig-sensei explained this while I was boiling a pot of it at Pennsic during our Great Medieval Food Adventure.

Maybe she could elaborate.

PS - I never thought I could like an ingredient that basically amounts to fish flakes.

[Date Saburou Yukiie]

I have heard that some people have violent reactions to MSG. Is this true or possible? Is it like any allergy that one can develope, where the agent must be imbibed/ingested/contacted at least once before a reaction will take place, or is it possible for a reaction to occur on first contact?
Just curious...
And I must say, I LIKE dashi...
Date

[Shinmen Ukyo]

www.geocities.com/missionstmichael/MSG.html

www.emedicinehealth.com/food_allergy/article_em.htm

[Noriko]

Ah! Ok, so creating dashi basically makes MSG. I had an inkling but part of me just wondered if MSG was something the food scientists threw in there just to capture the flavor on the cheap.
Thanks all!

[Date Saburou Yukiie]

www.geocities.com/missionstmichael/MSG.html

Thanks...
Date - a simple moderator and representative of no one but himself...

[solveig]

Noble Cousin!

Greetings from Solveig!

noriko said:

While I could spend all evening making dashi from scratch

It really should not take you all evening to make. It does take longer then 2 minutes, but it's worth it. Incidentally, my Chaseki instructor had us making dashi from katsuobushi, konbu, and water. That's pretty much all it takes.