monosodium glutamate
- noun
- /ˌmɒnoʊˈsoʊdiəm ˈɡluːtəˌmeɪt/
- Specialized
- Many people enjoy the rich flavor that monosodium glutamate adds to Asian dishes.
- contains monosodium glutamate
- monosodium glutamate (MSG)
Examples
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MSG (monosodium glutamate), aspartame (phenylalanine), sodium nitrite, sodium nitrate, and many others.
Blog text (25) -
Some restaurant chefs use monosodium glutamate to enhance the taste of their soups.
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He called it monosodium glutamate, or MSG.
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Well, I've stolen Osato's new process for making monosodium glutamate.
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That most essential of spices, known as monosodium glutamate, or more lovingly, MSG, is so hard to let go of.
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Monosodium glutamate is not good for you, yet it was heralded as one of the best flavor additives for years, and people debated it.
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In many food products, monosodium glutamate is included as a common flavor enhancer.
Synonyms
A white powder that cooks add to food to make it taste more savory
A food additive called MSG that makes food taste stronger
How Savory
- Specialized
- Specialized
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
The term is a literal, scientific compound name: 'monosodium' (containing a single sodium) + 'glutamate' (the salt/anion of glutamic acid), so its referent as the sodium salt of glutamic acid is directly derivable from the parts. This compositional naming pattern is cross-linguistically common in chemistry, making the expression transparently understandable to learners who know the constituents.
Etymology
Monosodium glutamate simply describes the substance: mono means 'one', sodium is a kind of salt, and glutamate is the part that gives a strong savory taste called 'umami'. That's why monosodium glutamate is used as a 'flavor enhancer' to make food taste more savory.