I read an article about how Clamato came about just recently: a Canadian chef had the idea of mixing clam broth and pureed clams into tomato juice to replicate the savory goodness of clam sauce, figuring the umami (there’s your MSG again!) from the clams had a kind of magic when combined with tomato. He perfected it and wrote to Mott’s about his discovery, and they said “yup, we’re on it, we’ve even got the packaging all set to go. Thanks anyway though!”
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This is my conception of Jason Weisberger at a dinner party:
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When I was a kid in the States in the 70’s I often heard people claim that they were senstitive to MSG. I moved to Hong Kong in the mid-80’s and MSG in most of East and SE Asia is known by the Japanese brand name Ajinomoto. It’s a 12 billion dollar company and it’s everywhere. Ajinomoto is used more than salt or even sugar and it’s used in pretty much every dish you can imagine – this is true for Japan, everywhere I lived in Hong Kong and Mainland China, Thailand Laos, Singapore, Malaysia and now 5 years in Cambodia. In 30 years I have never met anyone in this part of the world who is “sensitive” and I’ve never heard a single person complain.
Perhaps Western People, or at least white people of European ancestry have an unusually large number of people who are sensitive or allergenic…
I was at a bar with a Japanese friend in Phnom last month, and the Khmer waitress said she only knew two Japanese words, “Arigato” (thank you) and “Ajinomoto”. We didn’t have the heart to tell her that Ajinomoto was just a brand name 
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I dated a woman who loved MSG. It gave her a slight euphoria and mild hallucinations but I never did get her in a double blind test…
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Exactly. You can’t find out what’s in the smell without a full blown lab and the expertise to use it or inside sources at the scent manufacturer. Those kinds of products don’t have to list all the ingredients. They get to cop out by saying “fragrance” and ever explain what makes the smell.
I always smell any product I buy because of similar, though apparently less severe, issues. I’m also a big fan of Method cleaning products. I have yet to find anything they make that triggers the awful “MY NOSE IS DYING” sensation.
I also love OdorZout. Great for de-stinking stuff, especially laundry. Especially that funk towels get sometimes when they haven’t dried all the way.
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So really she knew four words!
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Here’s a science experiment for ya…
The food elimination diet. It’s pretty easy. Two weeks of not eating the most common food allergens, and then introducing them again, one at a time, a day at a time… With 2 days in between to watch for reactions.
The most common food sensitivities people have are to corn, wheat (gluten), soy, dairy, eggs, and peanuts.
That’s not all of them. By a long shot. Just the most common. Also the staple foods in our diet.
Fun things happen when you try to live this diet. Some of those data points are anecdotally vivid.
Mostly however. It’s just really eye opening… About the foods we eat in general. I found it a truly educational experience on a variety of levels.
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Bath and Body Works stores are a special kind of hell.
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Have you ever walked past a Lush store? Infinitely worse than Bath & Body Works!
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Those stores are overwhelming. I can’t imagine how anyone can pick out a favorite scent while shopping… the smell wallops me while just walking down the street.
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No, I haven’t. And now I never will!
I don’t generally like the scents created through chemistry, but they don’t usually trigger any reaction unless I’ve already got a migraine coming. Then they make it worse. But Bath and Body Works stores make me feel ill just passing by.
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If you have to filter vodka, you are a bad, bad distiller. Also, any vodka that advertises the number of times it has been distilled is both a) bad at making vodka, and b)* using an excruciatingly misleading detail.
Now, back to msg :D.
* does not apply to products that are advertised as Pot Distilled.
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I’ve always found a decently strong (for households!) oxidizer like unscented oxyclean plus a nice long soak tends to destroy the stank. Is OdorZout faster/better/good looking? 
I haven’t used it.
“Vitriol”? Gosh, you do haz teh sensitives.
It’s a powder. You just add it to the load, let it soak for a bit (not even that long) and wash it out. Using a “heavy load” or other setting that has lots of swishing is best. Works great for cat urine too. Oh, also works for embedded dog smell, sprinkle on carpet or couch, let it sit for a day, then vacuum it up.
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Oh man, me and your dad would get along. I can polish off a gallon of the Low-sodium V8 with Sriracha mixed in in a day.
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Dammit, I can’t find it now, but on Tumblr I saw a photomanip of a Yankee “Candle Store” scented candle. I should have put that in my imgur gallery.
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Keep in mind that lactose intolerance would be an obvious counter example: a majority of Northern Europeans have no problem digesting dairy products, but the numbers fall drastically in Asia and even more among Native Americans (who are Asian by genetic heritage).
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Yes, thanks for the correction. I used the word filtered when I should have used distilled. It was late, near ready for bed.
However, I have noticed a smoother finish when tasting a vodka that has been distilled multiple times. Since distilled alcohol takes time, I believe this is how they justify the added cost.
It’s true that some multiple distilled vodkas tastes like shit though, and that the pot distilled (usually smaller batch is what I remember) seems to taste better (I think this is how my high chem teacher made his…different times:wink:). I just think there is less of a hangover effect with really good vodka, and a smoother finish, in my modest experiments.
It’s been 27 years since my bartending days and roughly 17 years since I had a tasting, so I apologize. Apparently, if you don’t use it, you lose it?
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