Umami Seasoning Secrets!

Do you struggle to eat enough vegetables? Do you find it challenging to make them taste great? You are not alone!

It turns out that many people need help getting enough vegetables and other nutrient-dense foods in their diet. According to the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, almost 90% of the U.S. population, ages 1 and older, still need to meet the recommended daily vegetable intake, including leafy greens, non-starchy vegetables, beans, lentils, and others (1).

Most people know that getting enough vegetables is important. The benefits are endless: they contain essential vitamins and minerals necessary for our health, are high in fiber, and can reduce the risk of certain chronic diseases like heart disease and hypertension, to name a few. However, making vegetables delicious and satisfying can be challenging if you don’t know where to start, but it doesn’t have to be so difficult!

Bland Vegetables

The reason why making vegetables taste good is challenging is that most vegetables are bland on their own. Think about a bowl of mushy, unseasoned broccoli – would you choose that over a cheeseburger? Probably not, and that is because our tongues crave more flavor.

Flavor is the balancing act that involves taste, texture, color, and the overall experience of the food. Vegetables and other nutrient-dense foods can be bland on their own, but the art of cooking and enhancing flavor can turn that mushy bowl of unseasoned broccoli into a bright and flavorful appealing dish that leaves you feeling satisfied.

Thankfully, there are simple ways to make vegetables enjoyable. The key is in how we season our food! Seasoning your foods with the right ingredients can be a game changer and a way to serve our families healthier foods they will enjoy and eat!

Enhance the Flavor

I believe people don’t like vegetables because they don’t know how to season and prepare them correctly. For example, have you tried roasting asparagus with just a drizzle of oil and Parmesan cheese, or wrapping them in bacon? Do you know why they taste so much better? This is because foods with glutamate provide the umami effect. Parmesan cheese and bacon have significant amounts of glutamate, which enhances the natural flavors of the food.

Umami Seasoning!

You can also boost any savory dish with umami seasoning (monosodium glutamate, aka MSG), which will season your foods deliciously while allowing you to use less sodium. MSG is umami seasoning – the simplest, purest way to add the umami taste to food. And MSG has two-thirds less sodium than table salt!

While MSG is a great way to add the umami effect to foods and reduce dietary sodium, some people are concerned about its safety. In the past, MSG’s reputation suffered because of misleading studies. A 2019 review in the Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety journal points out that these studies often used much higher doses of MSG than what people typically eat, leading to flawed results (2). If you are still wondering if MSG is safe, refer to the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives and the U.S. FDA, both of which have deemed MSG to be safe. (2,3,4).

If you would like to find new ways to spruce up your vegetable dishes, here is a chart showing ways to enhance our foods with preparation methods and seasonings:

Latino Dishes with MSG

One of my favorite dishes is rice and beans. It’s an easy, affordable, nutritious, and comforting dish that always reminds me of home. Rice and beans are a staple in Latino households, but for people who didn’t grow up eating beans, finding ways to make them taste good can be challenging. Beans and pulses are packed with gut-friendly fiber that helps feed our microbiome! They are also a great source of plant-based protein, and when paired with other foods, like rice, they make a complete protein.

How can we make beans taste good? You may not have thought of incorporating that umami flavor to enhance the dish, but adding that secret ingredient can be a great way to bring basic rice and beans to the next level. This can be your next low-cost and nutrient-dense recipe for the whole family!

Here’s the recipe:

Print

Puerto Rican Arroz con Habichuelas Guisadas (rice and beans)

One of my favorite dishes is rice and beans. It's an easy, affordable, nutritious, and comforting dish that always reminds me of home.

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine Latina, Spanish

Servings 4 (~1 cup per serving)

Author Sylvia Klinger DBA, MS, RD, LDN, CPT

Ingredients

• 1 15 oz can pink beans (habichuelas rosadas)
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 3 Tablespoons sofrito sauce recipe: https://msgdish.com/tasty-latin-american-cuisine-with-umami-boost-2/
• ½ cup white potato diced
• ½ cup pumpkin diced
• 1 Tablespoon no-salt-added tomato paste
• 2 cups water
• ½ packet Sazón seasoning
• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 bay leaf
• dash umami seasoning (MSG)

Rice

• 3 cups medium-grain white rice
• 3 cups water

Instructions

1. Wash and dice the potatoes. Rinse and drain canned beans. Set aside.
2. Add rice and water to a medium-sized pot. Cook for about 25 to 30 minutes or until the water of the rice is almost absorbed.
3. While rice is cooking, heat oil in a medium-sized pot on medium heat and add garlic, sofrito, and tomato paste. Cook for about 30 seconds, or until the sauce is bubbly.
4. Add beans, potatoes, and pumpkin to the tomato sauce. Then add the water, Sazón, and bay leaf.
5. Bring water to boil, then lower heat to simmer, and cover with a lid. Simmer for about 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
6. Serve beans over rice and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

The key is the longer the beans are left to simmer, the more flavorful they become!

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Emily https://flic.kr/p/6QVuMt

Click here for the Spanish version of this blog.

References:

1. U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025. 9th Edition. December 2020. Available at DietaryGuidelines.gov.
2. Zanfirescu A, Ungurianu A, Tsatsakis AM, et al. A review of the alleged health hazards of monosodium glutamate. Compr Rev Food Sci Food Saf 2019 Jul;18(4):1111-1134. doi: 10.1111/1541-4337.12448
3. Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. (2012, November 19). Questions and answers on monosodium glutamate (MSG). U.S. Food and Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/food/food-additives-petitions/questions-and-answers-monosodium-glutamate-msg
4. Walker R, Lupien J. The Safety Evaluation of Monosodium Glutamate. The Journal of Nutrition 2000 Apr; 130(4): 1049S-1052S. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/130.4.1049S