Chinese food to blame?

[DonJuane]

It's been reported to me that I may have gotten metaphorically carried away and from that I may be doing things that are very dangerous to my own health. The point here was only that I eat my fair share of MSG and I don't actually dip a scoop of it to taste when salting steaks as I may have previously exaggerated. In fact I just cooked steaks last night and observed that it was about one half of a small shake that I sprinkle on top of my hand to remind me what I am doing to the steak and entice my taste buds for what's to come.

I do cook a lot, and a cook frequently may need to shake out a bit of spice, put a drop of sauce or pepper somewhere to taste it and see how it's going to affect the respective dish. A cook also hates to wash dishes with a passion so the cleanest part of a body that serves as a sampling area over the years I have found is the back of my hand, so a sprinkle of this or that seasoning followed by a lick seems like a very convenient thing to do it and save silverware washing in the process. And since I wash my hands every minute or so, especially after handling steak, the back of the hand remains near perfectly clean.

Otherwise the point here is that I enjoy and continue to enjoy moderate helpings of MSG. I never use the pure stuff as it is overwhelming but the point of this story is a) restaurants have either doubled their dosage recently to substitute for the lack of real ingredients and to simulate more flavor with more chemicals or b) as a profit making incentive gone to some chemical of even more questionable value than MSG. Either way, eating somewhere that uses enough of this mystery ingredient to cause the reaction either Doyle or I have experienced in the past is dangerous and should be avoided.

Still my favorite MSG products remain:

Fiesta Fajita Seasoning - goes on everything in Texas from steaks to pozole to Texas cook-off chili to guacamole
https://www.samsclub.com/p/bolner-s-fies...-oz/158673
(3 short shakes per side of stake)

and
Vegeta Soup Seasoning - very popular in eastern Europe and used in stews or soups of any kind
https://amzn.to/31JZomq
a TBS in a dutch oven full of soup base

Again don't over do it with the MSG products and don't bother with the pure stuff and the flavor enhancement can still be great to enjoy occasionally while staying away from certain Asian restaurants that like to go overboard thinking if a little is good, a lot more is better.

P.S. To anyone offended by the practice of tasting seasonings off the top of the hand, keep in mind that there are also other parts of the body that might do as an alternative. I am reminded one Valentine's day of seeing a very attractive classy looking lady in black stilettos, a black short dress and provocative top. She was in line in front of me at Kroger market in Dallas and had in her large cart only a red rose and a can of Reddy Whip. I did not have to look hard to figure out the recipe she had in mind. I'm still looking in fact for the right opportunity to prepare that dish myself.