WHAT IS "GLUTAMATE"?
Glutamate is a widely used flavor enhancer in Asian cuisine that goes by about 25 different names (not to be confused with Gluten or a thickener for sauces). It is a substance which, without having a pronounced own flavor, does not modify the taste but increases the intensity of the olfactory-gustatory perception (taste and/or smell) of a foodstuff. So you have the impression that the dish is very tasty, but your brain is deceiving you.
The "monosodium glutamate symptom" was originally called "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome".
It's everywhere
When we take a look at the common products of a grocery store, we see that they are everywhere: seasoned chips, Chinese soups, Heinz sauces, nuoc mam, Maggi sauces and cubes, canned soups and even in sausage …
Our choice
At Aname, we had to change all the basic products used in our kitchen, such as Nuoc mam, soy sauce, etc. All these products exist with or without glutamate, expensive or not expensive. We chose from day one not to use Glutamate in our cooking. Apart from health-related issues, we don't see the point of a product that only serves to cheat in order to use fewer raw materials to increase restaurant margins to the detriment of people's health.
A few amusing anecdotes related to glutamate
Some Europeans came back to us to ask us to put Glutamate since the Asians put it. Some French Chefs who wanted to try their hand at Asian cuisine used Glutamate in their recipe, considering that it was an integral part of the taste. The majority of Asian Chefs do not know how to cook without glutamate, having no more benchmarks as to the proportions to use, with the anguish of having no more taste.
The effects of glutamate
It irritates the digestive tract and triggers a mechanical hunger that drives consumption.
Ingested in repetitive and regular doses, this synthetic product becomes a dangerous poison, especially since the body cannot identify its taste. This has the effect that the consumer exceeds, without knowing it, his tolerance threshold.
Side effects: signs such as migraines, hair loss (especially in women), rapid weight gain, depression, gastrointestinal disorders, skin irritations, neurological disorders such as extreme fatigue, irritability, anxiety, panic attacks and even sciatica, muscular, respiratory disorders.