Thursday, October 29, 2009

Food Joints In Ghana: We Beg, The Monosodium Is Too Much!!!




Ghanaians are known for enjoying spicy meals. Yes..... we love our pepper soups and stews hot. And though most people feel embarassed to admit it,  there is a special bond that most Ghanaians share when it gets to our natural momonis, kakos, among other natural herbs and spices.  Aren't we delighted when we visit one-stop stalls stocked with all our spices in the markets? Yes we are!!!

Then, why do many eating places in Ghana choose to kill us slowly by literally pouring Monosodium Glutamate(MSG) into everything they prepare- from beans and kontonmire stews to plain rice??? I mean, there are so many alternatives one can use in place of that deadly substance, so why MSG????

Yesterday afternoon, I decided to go for a plate of plain rice and kontonmire stew from a respected restaurant in town. After taking a spoonful of the meal, I began to have severe palpitations; I tend to have that reaction when there is too much MSG in any food substance I ingest. The food also tasted of a combination of momoni and MSG that had gone down disaster lane...

Now why would anyone want to add MSG to a dish that already has a natural flavor enhancer such as momoni in it? Can you tell me?

The most annoying part of it all is that MSG has no nutrients and does not really make food taste great but rather,send signals to the brain to make us believe that the food we are eating actually tastes good.

For more information please visit this link MSG dangers.

If you use a lot of MSG in the form of cubes and the powder, please minimize the intake and if possible, exclude it totally from your spices list.

4 comments:

  1. @ Rogelio: Thanks for stopping by and joining the club.

    ReplyDelete
  2. *Interesting stuff* I work in allergy research and I know about MSG in cooking in the US causing "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome" which is basically MSG-induced asthma, hives etc. I did not know that MSG was used that much in Ghanaian commercial cooking aside from in cubes. Very informative!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Enyonam - love the name btw, wish I had thought of it first! Anyhoo, I got a big shock when reading the back of Maggi, Royco, Knorr cubes and stuff! Wow, good idea for a post bcuz i think a lot of our people don't know but need to!

    ReplyDelete
  4. @ Abena Serwaa: Thanks... I'm glad to have added to existing knowledge.. It is indeed, a main ingredient in many cooking areas in Ghana.

    @ Nsoromma: Thanks....

    Hope you visit again soon....

    ReplyDelete

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