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Umami


ComputerGuy

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This topic started in the Mesh thread, so I am moving it here to prevent a total loss of that.

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CHILLIN: I once ended up in a Puerto Vallarta hospital for overnight observation after face and tongue swollen with a food allergy. The culprit, the only food I had eaten that day, was KFC spicy chicken, including their nuclear green coleslaw. Upon further research I found many were cutting way back on MSG, but there was a pack of five additional chemicals which greatly enhanced the remaining MSG, but none of them had been tested for human consumption!

The best source of unami flavor is ground, or whole, koji kin rice, fermented sweet rice. It is extremely popular with top chefs. Computer Guy will remember when we attended the sushi and knife sharpening demonstration, that he said he had brought 3 bags of koji kin for his chef friend in Guadalajara. I have starter in the freezer, but have not done anything with it yet.

google koji kin recipes, you will surprised about the enthusiasm for this ingredient, and it shouldn't be difficult or expensive to import it. Last time I checked, Fuji foods, in Guadalajara did not have it.

 

Wait, that was you? That was an excellent class, freely given by a studied and gentlemanly person. He gave us the rest of that bottle of what I presume is koji jin sake. It portends a whole other world of interests.

I didn't know anything about koji jin or kin until your post, but wow, it is a huge part of Japanese food culture.

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Better to look up soji kin. I have enough starter for 50 lbs of sweet, sushi rice. This, in term, could make a lifetime of spores. Come over and pick some up. PM. I originally wanted to make a batch to sell in plastic shakers. Someone has to do this, it is like introducing a whole new flavor to the Western world.

 

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Hi there! Greetings from Tokio!

I feel sorry that we can not come to Mexico this winter because I need to get dental procedures (12 teeth implants)😪. We may visit Guadalajara after the Olympic games are over.

Chillin, I might give you a wrong idea on Umami and Koji which are different; Umami, as far as I understand, was recognized and introduced to the Western world as the 5th taste. Please refer to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umami

Koji is used to make Sake, Soy sauce, Soy bean paste, etc. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qū    I will try to bring you some Koji-Kin with me when I come to Mexico next time. I hope I can pass la aduana sin problema because it is made from rice which is not allowed to import.

If you have any ?'s, please let me know.

Saludos

 

 

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Hello, Ukiyo-san, and welcome back. My daughter and I still discuss your Master Class frequently. I must confess I do not practice my sushi-rolls enough to become good at it. But I am now the proud owner of several grades of sharpening stone for my knives. And yet I still cannot attain the level of sharp perfection that you provided me. The thumbnail test is never good enough.

Good luck with the teeth.   ... Mike

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2 hours ago, Ukiyo said:

Hi there! Greetings from Tokio!

I feel sorry that we can not come to Mexico this winter because I need to get dental procedures (12 teeth implants)😪. We may visit Guadalajara after the Olympic games are over.

Chillin, I might give you a wrong idea on Umami and Koji which are different; Umami, as far as I understand, was recognized and introduced to the Western world as the 5th taste. Please refer to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umami

Koji is used to make Sake, Soy sauce, Soy bean paste, etc. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qū    I will try to bring you some Koji-Kin with me when I come to Mexico next time. I hope I can pass la aduana sin problema because it is made from rice which is not allowed to import.

If you have any ?'s, please let me know.

Saludos

 

 

Good to hear from you! I believe there is another 6th taste in Japanese cuisine which refers to "mouthfeel". 

This is where I bought the spores from, the chuhaka-kin spores, 100 grams. No problems into Mexico. Some people in the U.S. are growing cultures directly on meats, but this is illegal for sale to the public.

https://store.organic-cultures.com/kokinspsu.html

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1 hour ago, CHILLIN said:

Ukiyosan. do you know the latin genus name for omobushi plums. I would like to pickle some - or many.  Outrageously expensive here. The fruit tree store in Veracruz has some nice plum trees, Japanese plums, but I don't know if they are the right ones.

 

9 hours ago, CHILLIN said:

Good to hear from you! I believe there is another 6th taste in Japanese cuisine which refers to "mouthfeel". 

This is where I bought the spores from, the chuhaka-kin spores, 100 grams. No problems into Mexico. Some people in the U.S. are growing cultures directly on meats, but this is illegal for sale to the public.

https://store.organic-cultures.com/kokinspsu.html

Good morning, or buenas tardes! Right now I can not enjoy "mouthfeel" since I only have few teeth, ja ja.  Ironically we have less words explaining texture of the foods as you do, such as crispy, crunchy, flasky, fluffy, and so on.

With regards to "omobushi plums", we do eat a lot.  You can find them at a Japanese foods stores called Toyo foods in GDL, they only carry sour ones, though.  As far as I traveled over Mexico, I have not seen the Ume trees yet. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umeboshi

I always bring some with me to Mexico, so you can try them next time.

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Wow. Talk about B.S.. Racist?? Didn't know that Campbell's soups and Uncle Ben's Flavoured Rices were made in China.

Maybe it IS the sodium to which the glutamate is attached. Heaven knows that I am salt sensitive too... burns my mouth. And, depending on your body, sodium is dehydrating which would account for the "hangover" feeling.

 

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from the article you posted:

 

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The stigma around MSG fueled — or, perhaps, was fueled by — long-held racist stereotypes.

After the United States lifted race-based immigration quotas in 1965, many Chinese immigrants, fleeing the Cultural Revolution that began in 1966, settled in the United States and opened restaurants. Many of those used MSG.

....

“As soon as I heard the actual definition for Chinese Restaurant Syndrome, it hurt because I know it’s steeped in decades of xenophobia,” Ms. Mai, who has a Vietnamese background, wrote in an email.

 

 

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What I am curious about is WHY anyone is implying that there are no negative effects from MSG?  Seems almost like a crusade.  Those who experience the effects know the difference between facts and b.s. 

As it happens, I love Asian food and know full well what is going to follow...discomfort.  I eat it anyway, though not often. I sure don't use MSG for my home cooking.

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33 minutes ago, Ferret said:

If avoiding gluten helps them physically with symptoms, why would they continue to eat it? It isn't based on what they think, it's based on what they have observed in their own bodies.

What's bugging me is the "it's all in your head" implication and subtle tone of ridicule.  Yes, there are people who "fad think" about various foods and diets, but at the same time, there are those who really are sensitive to certain substances.  What's the point of the "attitude"?

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  HURT???  A sorry attempt.   In fact, most reasonably smart people know the difference between propaganda and fact.  The "placebo effect" is real, as is the gullibility of some people who want to be "special" by believing themselves sensitive to some substances. The "gluten free" diet fad promulgated in recent years is a prime example.

On the other hand...for others, the negative effects of some substances is very real.  Allergies exist.  All human bodies are not made the same.

 

 

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4 hours ago, gringal said:

  HURT???  A sorry attempt.   In fact, most reasonably smart people know the difference between propaganda and fact. 

Maybe, but it is quite possible that there are not that many reasonably smart people...

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30 minutes ago, ComputerGuy said:

Maybe, but it is quite possible that there are not that many reasonably smart people...

That goes without saying.  My point is that the attempt to discredit the remaining reasonably smart people with that video is nonsense.  I think we have beaten this critter to death by now and should give up.  Obviously, no one has managed to "win" so far.🙄

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