-----Original Message-----
Date: Saturday, September 26, 1998 12:48 PM
Subject: Re: YEAST: Are Crock Pots A Good Idea?
>L asked:
>
>>In an on going effort to find foods that are simple to fix for a single
>>working person, I am considering buying an electric crock pot to use to
>>cook legumes/beans/grains.
>>
>>Is this a good idea?
>
>Not according to the NOMSG group. The following is an article from the Fall
>1997 newsletter of the NOMSG group. It is copyrighted by the National
>Organization Mobilized to Stop Glutamate. They can be reached at: P.O. Box
>367, Santa Fe, NM 87504 or 800-BEATMSG (800-232-8674). Or at
>http://www.nomsg.com/
>
>COOKS CORNER
>
>Have you been getting MSG reactions even when taking pains to cook from
>scratch at home? One possibility is that you are using cooking methods that
>manufacture MSG right in your own kitchen!
>
>Hydrolysis of a protein is the process of breaking down its structure by
>using water, heat and an acid to produce a mixture of amino acids,
>including glutamate (MSG). This is easy to duplicate in the kitchen when
>making soups, stews and reduced sauces which require long cooking times.
>The addition of acid foods such as tomatoes, lemon juice or vinegar speeds
>up the hydrolysis. In commercial production, this process goes very
>quickly, achieving a 50% of protein in 2 hours. The amino acid mixture
>typically contain from 20% to 40% MSG and are added to our foods as
>"hydrolyzed vegetable protein" (HVP) or "natural flavors."
>
>Therefore, you should avoid any recipe that requires long cooking times.
>Soups can be made fairly safe by increasing the solid ingredients and
>reducing water in order to get more flavor in a shorter period of time. Do
>not use acid foods and cook for only 15 to 30 minutes maximum, at a low
>simmer and leave uncovered to promotes evaporation and concentrate the
>flavor. You can tell when it is done by tasting the vegetables to see if
>they have given up their flavor to the broth and have become tasteless
>themselves. Since meat and chicken contain much more protein than most
>vegetables (dried beans and lentils are the exception), make an
>all-vegetable broth to use in other soups and sauces.
>
>The best cooking methods are grilling and stir-frying, but baking and
>steaming at high temperatures for short periods of time are good also.
<snip>
>P.S. Throw away your crock pots!
>