History
Back in 1908, there was a chemist named Ikeda Kikunae who got a flavourful ingredient from sea kelp to put into a Japanese broth called konbu dashi. The ingredient that he created in the lab was called monosodium glutamate (MSG). Kikunae was in Germany at the time he decided to share his discovery with the people he worked with. He was inspired by an article he read by a Japanese doctor who talked about easily eating foods that tasted good. MSG became available in Japan, United States, England, and France, and Kikuna called it umami, which meant “tasty” in Japanese. He gave the product to an iodine manufacturer who created more and marketed it with the name Ajinomoto, which meant “essence of taste”. Although the product became very successful, people were concerned with the safeness of the product. This resulted in the shortage of customers, and money for the first four years.
The Ajinomoto Company was constantly being turned away, so the company decided to turn to
housewives. Bourgeios housewives were very popular back then. These women found
it important to have nutritious foods and were conscious of the ingredients they added to
their food. They wanted to impress their families and generation after generation
what they learned from their mothers about how to cook dishes like
Teriyaki and Tonkatsu. As Japan developed, this became less common and servants did most of
the cooking. MSG was also expensive, but the women were being persuaded that
the unusual ingredient was essential to be added to their food. The women began
to buy it in little bottles. Later on, expects in Western cuisine came to
support the product that appeared in journals and newspapers. Due to the praise MSG was used in many recipes and became very successful because it made food taste good. Companies that produced MSG began to rise again even though it did not have the health benefits. It was a substitute kelp and bonito flakes which was used to make broth(chicken broth). The Ajinomoto Company said that the product was pure white to continue to attract the Bourgeious women because they did not like bleach ingredients. MSG is like a fifth taste sense called Umani. MSG is still used today but not as famous as it once was.
Back in 1908, there was a chemist named Ikeda Kikunae who got a flavourful ingredient from sea kelp to put into a Japanese broth called konbu dashi. The ingredient that he created in the lab was called monosodium glutamate (MSG). Kikunae was in Germany at the time he decided to share his discovery with the people he worked with. He was inspired by an article he read by a Japanese doctor who talked about easily eating foods that tasted good. MSG became available in Japan, United States, England, and France, and Kikuna called it umami, which meant “tasty” in Japanese. He gave the product to an iodine manufacturer who created more and marketed it with the name Ajinomoto, which meant “essence of taste”. Although the product became very successful, people were concerned with the safeness of the product. This resulted in the shortage of customers, and money for the first four years.
The Ajinomoto Company was constantly being turned away, so the company decided to turn to
housewives. Bourgeios housewives were very popular back then. These women found
it important to have nutritious foods and were conscious of the ingredients they added to
their food. They wanted to impress their families and generation after generation
what they learned from their mothers about how to cook dishes like
Teriyaki and Tonkatsu. As Japan developed, this became less common and servants did most of
the cooking. MSG was also expensive, but the women were being persuaded that
the unusual ingredient was essential to be added to their food. The women began
to buy it in little bottles. Later on, expects in Western cuisine came to
support the product that appeared in journals and newspapers. Due to the praise MSG was used in many recipes and became very successful because it made food taste good. Companies that produced MSG began to rise again even though it did not have the health benefits. It was a substitute kelp and bonito flakes which was used to make broth(chicken broth). The Ajinomoto Company said that the product was pure white to continue to attract the Bourgeious women because they did not like bleach ingredients. MSG is like a fifth taste sense called Umani. MSG is still used today but not as famous as it once was.