The Food Programme

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The Food Programme: Pure umami: should we learn to love MSG?

Pure umami: should we learn to love MSG?

BBC Radio 4 - The Food Programme, Pure umami: should we learn to love MSG?

Leyla Kazim investigates the history, science and culture around MSG

Monosodium Glutamate is probably one of the most contentious ingredients in modern food.  Increasingly there have been calls to tackle the stigma attached to it especially as this has been linked to Chinese restaurants and people with East Asian heritage. 

In this programme Leyla Kazim aims to demystify MSG. She looks into where it came from, what it is and how it became so demonised.

Professor Lisa Methven from the University of Reading explains the taste science behind how and why we like MSG. David Gott from the Food Standards Agency clarifies what the science says around the health issues associated with it. Historian of Science Dr Sarah Tracy tells Leyla about the complicated history of MSG. MiMi Aye and Huong Black from the MSG Pod talk about their experiences with MSG and coach Leyla on how to use it in food. Alison Cheung and Marina Lai’s families both own restaurants in London’s Chinatown, Plum Valley and Lotus Garden. They talk about how they want to confront the decades long stigma

Presented by Leyla Kazim
Produced by Sam Grist in Bristol

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Pure umami: should we learn to love MSG?

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