That's right. The store bought, all white except for some green flecks, chemical filled stuff that is sold next to the sour cream. I grew up on it, I love the flavor and potato chips are just not the same without it. And lately, I have been indulging in my craving for this junk food.
But there is a problem. I want to eat real food. And even more importantly, I want my daughter to eat real food. Last weekend, we were eating lunch together, when she asked me, "Mommy, I love this dip, but why does it taste so good?" My honest answer was, "Probably because of the MSG."
Yep. MSG is in chip dip. What is MSG*? It is a chemical that has been isolated that contains sodium and a glutamate. However, a glutamate actually occurs naturally in many foods: ripe tomatoes, pickles, meat, cheeses, fish to name a few. According to the Japanese, it is what gives us umami**. U-what? Umami is considered by the Japanese as an additional taste along with sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. Umami is the savory behind the things we crave the most. Which for me is french onion chip dip.
So after explaining this to a confused six year old, she asks, "Is it good for me?" Good question. Some scientists and consumers say a most definite no, while others say except for those sensitive to it, it is fine.
"So, is it good for me?" She asks again. So, I stopped skirting the issue and said, "There is a better way to eat than consuming processed food."
"Oh, not that again," she said. As you can tell, she has heard it all before. So, I went online and found Alton Brown's recipe. Here is the link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/onion-dip-from-scratch-recipe/index.html
It was very easy and pretty tasty. I will need to tweak it by either changing the type of onion or at least adding more. Tomorrow I will find out if it passes the kid test.
*Interested in the science behind MSG? Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monosodium_glutamate
**What more information about umami? Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umami
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