Umami Recipes Enhanced Flavor, Reduced Sodium, Global Appeal
Creating the Savory Umami Experience
Consumers crave satisfying, restaurant-quality flavor in their foods. At the same time, they’re shopping for food that is healthy and nutritious. Oftentimes, that means reducing sodium, which ultimately leads to food that tastes thin, bland, or even bitter.
How can you achieve a savory umami experience that is reliable and consistent while doing it at scale?
Monosodium Glutamate or MSG.
MSG enhances and amplifies the flavor of umami across a wide variety of cuisines. For a deeper, richer flavor profile, use MSG in:
- Broths
- Gravies
- Sauces
- Salad dressings
- Packaged snacks
- Plant-based proteins
- Marinades and rubs
- Soups and stews
- Egg and dairy dishes
- Tomato-based products
- Seafood
The addition of MSG to these and many other dishes creates a more satisfying and complete taste experience. Best of all, MSG contains only 12% sodium compared with 39% in table salt, so culinary creations are not only delicious, they’re low in sodium too.
Meeting the Sodium Challenge
MSG contributes only about one-third of the sodium content found in an equivalent amount of table salt. For health-conscious consumers, substituting MSG for table salt means recipes that are healthier without sacrificing taste. When you use MSG to boost umami, you can create low-sodium products that are not only palatable, but also enjoyable.
Balancing the Taste of Plant-Based Foods
Plant-based and protein-forward foods present unique flavor challenges. Everything from meat alternatives to protein bars can contain flavor notes that are bitter and undesirable. MSG can help balance these flavors and significantly improve overall taste in the high-volume production of market-ready foods.
Authenticity in Regional and Cultural Cuisines
Flavor expectations vary greatly across regions and cultures. Palates attuned to what “tastes right” differ across the globe. When MSG formulations are meticulously aligned with these markets, flavor profiles can meet and even exceed the expectations and sensory preferences of customers in specific regions and cultures.
Try Our Taste-Tested Umami Recipes Flavored with MSG
In collaboration with Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition scientists, professional chefs have created these delicious MSG-enhanced recipes for use by product developers, food scientists, R&D chefs, and formulation managers
