Chicken essence and monosodium glutamate are often compared. Many people stubbornly believe that chicken essence is better than monosodium glutamate. Today, let's take a look at the differences between the two and whether chicken essence is really better than monosodium glutamate.
Differences in Nutritional Composition
Chicken essence is a complex seasoning made by adding flavor enhancers, salt, sugar, chicken powder, spices, and chicken flavor essence to monosodium glutamate. Chicken essence is mainly made from basic ingredients such as monosodium glutamate, flavor nucleotides, salt, chicken meat, chicken bone powder or concentrated extracts, and is processed with or without the addition of flavorings and binders, through mixing, granulation, and drying.
The main ingredient of monosodium glutamate is monosodium glutamate. It is extracted through microbial fermentation using grains such as rice and corn or sugar syrup. Monosodium glutamate has a relatively simple taste, while chicken essence has a more comprehensive taste due to the presence of various seasonings.
Differences in Color
Due to its more complex composition, chicken essence is usually opaque yellow or light yellow.
Monosodium glutamate, on the other hand, is generally transparent and colorless.
Differences in Appearance
Chicken essence can be in powder, granules, or block form, but it is mainly in the form of cylindrical or elliptical particles.
Monosodium glutamate is commonly seen in the form of rectangular crystal particles, although it can also be found in powder form.
Differences in Solubility
Chicken essence contains chicken bone powder and egg powder, which makes it less soluble in water compared to monosodium glutamate. Therefore, it is best to add a small amount of water when using chicken essence to help it dissolve and enhance the umami taste.
Monosodium glutamate is easily soluble in water and has hygroscopic properties. It is relatively stable under normal cooking conditions, but under long-term high temperature, it can turn into sodium pyroglutamate, which lacks umami taste and has slight toxicity. The optimal dissolution temperature for monosodium glutamate is 70°C to 90°C. It forms a precipitate or is difficult to dissolve in alkaline or strongly acidic solutions, and its umami taste is not obvious or even disappears.
Differences in Price
Due to its more complex nutritional composition and more complicated production process, chicken essence is more expensive in the market.
Monosodium glutamate, with its purer composition, is usually 40% cheaper than chicken essence.
Differences in Shelf Life
As a complex seasoning, chicken essence has relatively complex ingredients, and its shelf life is usually 1-2 years.
Monosodium glutamate, with its higher purity and simpler composition, usually has a shelf life of 3 years for 95% purity monosodium glutamate.
Differences in Taste
Chicken essence has the aroma of chicken and a salty taste. Its taste is more complex and the aroma is richer.
Monosodium glutamate has a more simple taste and only serves to enhance the umami taste without the aroma of chicken. However, its umami-enhancing effect is better than that of chicken essence, and it still has an umami taste when dissolved in 3000 times its weight of water.
Differences in Safety
Many people believe that chicken essence is better than monosodium glutamate, but in fact, it cannot be generalized. Chicken essence is made on the basis of monosodium glutamate, so there is no difference in safety between the two. It is only that chicken essence has a richer nutritional composition, and in this respect, choosing chicken essence is healthier.
