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21 Feb
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Posted by Musashi
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| Category: Video | Tag: food, japan, video games, wtf |
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2 Sep
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Posted by Musashi
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My wife swears that MSG gives her headaches. Frankly, my wife gives me headaches when she starts whining about the level of MSG in her Chinese food…because for all the noise generated about MSG’s supposedly harmful effects, nobody has been able to definitively determine that MSG – eaten in normal amounts – causes any physiological problems.
Despite this, many people persist in the belief that MSG causes everything from headaches to muscle weakness.
What is MSG?
MSG is short for monosodium glutamate. According to Wikipedia, monosodium glutamate is “…a sodium salt of the naturally occurring non-essential amino acid glutamic acid.” This is probably as Greek to you as it is to me, but what’s important is that MSG stimulates the ‘fifth taste’, or umami. While you’re probably familiar with the first four taste sensations (bitter, salty, sweet, and sour) – many taste authorities have begun to refer to a fifth taste sensation called umami, a Japanese word roughly meaning ‘good flavor’. A more accurate interpretation would be ‘savory’. When you eat a steak, it’s this fifth taste sense that is being triggered.
MSG was discovered in 1907 in Japan by researcher Kikunae Ikeda and is a common flavor enhancer in many fast- and processed foods. Potato chips and flavored tortilla chips contain MSG as do packaged barbecue sauces and salad dressings. As you can see, even if you avoid Chinese food altogether, it’s very likely that you already ingest a fair amount of MSG without realizing it.
What do the experts say about MSG?
The Food and Drug Administration officially ruled that MSG is safe for consumption in 1959. The actual term is ‘Generally Recognized As Safe‘ or GRAS. Essentially what this means is that it can be safely added to food. The FDA is careful to define such usage as ‘intended use’, meaning don’t go around eating bowls full of MSG and you’ll be fine. Since then multiple reports and studies have concluded that, while a small percentage of the population may suffer minor problems when ingesting MSG, it is otherwise safe. Some side-effects were noted in lab rats being fed diets that were 20% MSG, but trust me – you could eat Chinese take-away every night of the week and not consume that much MSG.
One study conducted in the 70′s concluded that MSG can potentially be linked to obesity, but given that MSG is used in fast foods and snack foods, one wonders if the link goes the other way around.
So, if MSG is safe – why does everyone make such a big fuss about it?
Well – again…a small percentage of the population does seem to be susceptible to MSG-related side effects…no doubt about it. Insofar as Chinese restaurants are concerned, it’s notable that in 1968 a researcher actually coined a term for Chinese-food-related ickyness: ‘Chinese Restaurant Syndrome’ (or CRS). Robert Ho Man Kwok wrote:
I have experienced a strange syndrome whenever I have eaten out in a Chinese restaurant, especially one that served northern Chinese food. The syndrome, which usually begins 15 to 20 minutes after I have eaten the first dish, lasts for about two hours, without hangover effect. The most prominent symptoms are numbness at the back of the neck, gradually radiating to both arms and the back, general weakness and palpitations…
A following article entitled Monosodium L-glutamate: its pharmacology and role in the Chinese Restaurant Syndrome directly linked the syndrome with MSG, but repeated double-blind studies showed no conclusive link between either Chinese food or MSG and the symptoms being reported as CRS.
Like many such beliefs, its’ a lot easier to spread the panic than it is to stamp it out. The fact of the matter remains: MSG is unlikely to cause any discomfort. Often times reports of this nature are highly subjective, and susceptible to post hoc ergo propter hoc thinking. In my wife’s case, I think she’s simply the victim of a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you worry unduly about your dinner causing headaches – that’s likely to cause you a headache.
As with many such problems, a little critical thinking goes a long way.
| Category: Featured, food, News | Tag: china, food, msg. chinese food, rationality, science |
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17 Aug
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Posted by Musashi
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China is opening a new front on the war against environmental degredation – disposable wooden chopsticks. While the ubiquitous eating utensils may seem harmless to you and me, in China they’re causing a huge problem. 130 million pairs of chopsticks are consumed in China per day, requiring 100 acres of trees to be ground up each and every 24 hours – leading to massive deforestation.
The alternative is reusable chopsticks, but this leads to higher maintenance costs on the part of restaurants who then have to sterilize the chopsticks after use – a practice which seems trivial here in the West, where we routinely wash silverware as a function of running a restaurant. But in China, where disposable eating utensils have become the norm, this practice would be harder to adopt.
If the disposable chopstick has to go, you can be sure that its death will be a slow one. Calls to abandon the use-and-toss type began more than 10 years ago and have since persisted unabated. By 2006, the activism had become more strenuous: Citizens launched a BYOC (Bring Your Own Chopsticks) movement, which continues to gather momentum. And Greenpeace China, channeling Nancy Reagan, sponsored a “Say no to disposable chopsticks” campaign. In 2008, endangered orangutans (OK, they probably were just guys dressed as orangutans) took up the cause, bursting into cafeterias in China of large companies such as IBM, Microsoft and Intel to remind diners of the ecological perils of chopstick deforestation.
| Category: food, News | Tag: china, chopsticks, envorinment, food |
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5 Jul
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Posted by Musashi
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Competitive eating champ Takeru Kobayashi made a big splash at yesterday’s annual Nathan’s hot dog eating contest – though it wasn’t because he ate so many wieners. Kobayashi sat out this year’s shindig because he refused to sign on with the MLE (Major League Eating – no, seriously…) – and I guess Nathan’s contest is now an officially sponsored MLE event. Kobayashi seems to have had a last-minute change of heart, however, and showed up to the event unannounced.
You can see the ensuing events below…
| Category: Events, food, News | Tag: competitive eating, food, hot dogs, MLE, nathan's hot dog eating contest, takeru kobayashi |
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18 Jun
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Posted by AnaKhouri
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So Musashi, you know I’m down with your Filipino peeps and I’m all for exotic food and stuff. In fact, I pride myself on being open-minded about food and willing to try anything once. But…I just found out what balut is. And, um, just looking at pictures is kind of making me sick.
(on the bright side, my research led me to the above link, a neat Wiki for all things Philippines)
So, to anyone who’s eaten it…is it, uhhh…crunchy? That’s really what I want to know.
I’ll eat anything else you want to give me, Phlippines, as long as it’s not in a transitional state. I’ll eat duck, and I’ll eat egg, but not if it’s in-between being one or the other.
| Category: food | Tag: balut, food, Philippines |
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11 Jun
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Posted by AnaKhouri
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When you think about it, sushi in a tube probably makes more send than anything else, ever. Except maybe Scientology.
I am slightly amused by Kathie Lee Gifford’s reaction to the Sushi Popper.
TODAY’s Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb may need a little more convincing. On Thursday’s show, Kotb showed how to handle a Sushi Popper. Gifford tried her hand at it as well, but as the nori seaweed rolls and inside-out rolls (rice on the outside) emerged from the top, she admitted, “This is kind of gross.”
But her initial horror turned into intrigue as she pushed the sushi pieces up out of the tube. “They just keep coming — what a novel idea!” she said.
Yes dear- they just keep coming. That’s kind of the point. And an opening for a dirty joke.
I’m not going to try them- not because I’m afraid they will ‘just keep coming’ (snicker), but because thawed-out sushi kind of seems icky.
| Category: food | Tag: food, sushi, sushi popper |
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1 Apr
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Posted by Musashi
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Last time I visited my folks in Los Angeles I was treated to a bunch of octopus takoyaki in Japantown, and man have I been craving them ever since. Unfortunately we don’t have street vendors here in Cincinnati (not the kind that sell fried octopus fritters, anyway) – so I’m making a point of tracking down a takoyaki griddle this weekend and cooking up a batch of my own.
So – anyone know a good recipe? I’ll share!
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1 Apr
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Posted by AnaKhouri
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This may be blasphemy considering I am American and all, but I think Peeps are gross. I like marashmellow, it’s the colored sugar that gets me. I even have a huge sweet tooth, but Peeps are just too freaking sweet.
But if you like them, here is something creative you can do:
They look cute enough with the decapitated chick heads and all, but ewwww. Rice Krispie treats are good, fruit roll ups are good, but not together. And especially not with Peeps inside.
But if they’re you’re thing, go for it. Just send us pictures so we can post them.
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23 Mar
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Posted by AnaKhouri
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When we were in Japan, we went to McDonald’s. Yeah, I know, lame. But we were waiting for a plane and didn’t have time to hit the ramen place. And you know what? McDonald’s is usually gross, but that was the best damn food I ever had at McDonald’s.
Of course, I had the fish, and we were in Tokyo, so maybe it was a given that the food would be good. But Shapiro Keats liked his pork burger, and this other guy on the tour enjoyed his shrimp burger as well.
McDonald’s sells all kinds of awesome shit, just not in America.
That red bean and green tea sundae thing? Looks delish.
| Category: Uncategorized | Tag: asia, food, international, mcdonald's |
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18 Mar
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Posted by AnaKhouri
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The Japanese like weird flavors in candy. Like beer candy. I wasn’t brave enough to try that shit when we were in Japan. I don’t even like regular beer, how much worse can beer candy be?
I’ve actually tried Green Tea Kit Kat, and it’s not bad. And Cantelope Kit Kat, which wasn’t even on the list. They tasted OK but the candy coating leaves a weird residue on your tongue that takes hours to go away. Pineapple and Caramel sound good, I must say.
(for the record, I do not frequent the Food Network website or the channel- but my mom does. Paula Deen makes a pumpkin pie that Shapiro Keats loooooves)
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19 Dec
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Posted by AnaKhouri
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Off-topic: a few years ago, Jell-O put out a ‘limited edition’ pudding flavor around the holidays, Pumpkin Spice. It was like Heaven in a bowl, especially with some Cool Whip piled on top. We bought enough to sustain us for a year, about 6 boxes- one every other month, as a treat.
The next year, we kept an eye out at the stores…and there was NONE. No pumpkin pudding. We wailed and gnashed our teeth. We wept in the darkness of our despair.
Then the next year, a miracle! More pumpkin spice pudding We bought about 20 boxes. As of Thursday, we were down to 3. I had to make a quick trip to Meijer for Baby Orajel (Gohan made the worst face when I tried to put it on his gums, so I tasted it, and he’s right, it tastes like cherry-flavored shit) and what to my wondering eyes did appear, but Jell-O Pumpkin Spice Pudding!!
I bought an armload of boxes. If you guys want to try this deliciousness, I suggest you hustle your butts to Meijer right away before it disappears again. But not the one by my house, because, well, they’re out.
| Category: Uncategorized | Tag: christmas, delicious, food, holidays, jell-o, pumpkin spice pudding |
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27 Jul
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Posted by Musashi
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South Korea’s commie neighbors can now enjoy hamburgers like the rest of the civilized world, although it’s a treat that will likely remain unattainable for most of the population. Burger joint Samtaeseong recently opened in Pyongyang, although ‘hamburgers’ aren’t listed on the menu – probably so as to stave off the effects of contagious Western culture. If you want a hambuger, you must ask for the ‘minced beef and bread’. Mmm-mm! And the cost of a ‘minced beef and bread’ sandwich?
The minced beef and bread costs 1.7 dollars, it said, a price exceeding half the average North Korean’s daily income. The communist state’s per capita income was 1,065 dollars last year.
Yes, more than half a day’s wages.
| Category: News | Tag: corrupt western culture, food, hamburgers, korea |
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27 May
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Posted by Musashi
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A cute little panda was born in a Thai zoo, which will probably please Panda consumption proponent Chris Packham.
Table for one, then Chris?
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
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20 Feb
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Posted by Musashi
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When a recent documentary film crew found a living specimen of the supposedly exctinct Worcester’s Buttonquail, the bird (once photographed for posterity) – was whisked off and eaten, no doubt served up in a tasty adobo with garlic rice and tapa.
Alas, the Worcester’s Buttonquail is considered tasty in those parts. After its first recorded sighting in the wild, it was sold the next day, along with its sackmates, for ten pesos each, bought by a man for an ailing elderly relative who requested a meal of wild bird meat to make her stronger.
Eating extinct birds is hardcore cuisine, man – you make me proud to be Filipino.
| Category: News | Tag: cryptozoology, cuisine, food, Philippines, wtf |
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12 Feb
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Posted by Musashi
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Today’s Whaddafuck award goes to the Indian Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a Hindu nationalist group that plans to develop and sell a soft-drink made from bovine wee-wee. I’m trying to be fairly open-minded about this, because god knows I’ve eaten some wierd shit in my lifetime…but you’ve got to wonder about a religion that eschews killing cows but embraces drinking their pee (and, on occasion, eating their poop).
I mean, fuck’s-sake, people - if the cow’s body didn’t need it, what makes you think people will?
Om Prakash, the head of the department, said the drink – called “gau jal”, or “cow water” – in Sanskrit was undergoing laboratory tests and would be launched “very soon, maybe by the end of this year”.
“Don’t worry, it won’t smell like urine and will be tasty too,” he toldThe Times from his headquarters in Hardwar, one of four holy cities on the River Ganges. “Its USP will be that it’s going to be very healthy. It won’t be like carbonated drinks and would be devoid of any toxins.”
