Minimal

I read that article last summer, and put my mind at ease about MSG (perhaps this is a bad thing... Was that article funded by the MSG marketing board? We shall never know...). What bothers me most about the stuff is, if food is local, free-range and well-prepared, then it shouldn't need any MSG at all, right? It's usually added to foodstuffs which are low in actual goodness and flavour. That is where my problems [with it] lie. Eat free-range, local produce which tastes amazing and works for the local economy, sensible stuff. Can't you tell I'm the Smart-driving, Liberal, hairy-legged feminist?
Ooops, and here was me trying to be incognito ;-)
 

I've got the Jeffrey Steingarten book "It must have been something I ate" which contains quite a bit of the original source information for this article. It makes interesting reading. In fact, I've found many of Jeffrey Steingarten's articles to be thought provoking and interesting, giving a different perspective on food. You might find it interesting to read some more of his stuff. Alternatively, of course, you might prefer to boil your head in weak tea, but hey - each to his own! ;-)
 

Thanks for posting the link Mal. It was a very thought provoking article, which I wouldn't have read otherwise.
 

Nothing needs MSG. Mind, food being locally produced and/or free-range/organic/whatever has little to no bearing on its taste, if you ask me. I remember a friend of a friend telling me she thought organic bananas tasted "SO much better" than non-organic ones. What a crock. They taste exactly the same. I wouldn't criticise people's choice of organic food, but the reasoning for buying organic is often full of holes.

And as for hairy legs, can we keep them out of it, please? ;)
 

Mad: cheers for the tip-off on Mr Steingarten. Will investigate...
 

It's a certain fact that produce and meat from our local farm shop tastes infinitely better than anything we've ever bought in a supermarket. I don't know whether it is to do with being organic (it isn't all organic), being locally produced (it's nearly all from Northumberland) or what. What I do know is that everything tastes great, including the best white loaf I've ever had from anywhere in the world.

I've had some right crap that was local and/or organic. I've had some lovely things that were neither. I think the key is *good quality*, however it is achieved. But quality is more likely to be retained if the food has not had a very long journey to get to your table. It's also better for the environment that way.
 

I think that the key issue isn't neessarily organic/local/free-range, it's the overall method of production - our local farmshop sells beautiful meat, but that's because it's rare-breed, it's had a free-range varied diet, it's killed at an older age, and it's hung for longer. Intensive farming, particularly of meat, is all focused on getting a quick return, which is why supermarket meat is WAY inferior to "proper" meat. More reading, again, if you're interested: "Meat" by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. In fact, his rivercottage.net website has a great deal of information about food sourcing and production. Anyway, enough of my food-obsessed whittering - off to make breakfast!