Aug 12, 2026 · 37 min · 15 segments
**Episode SEO Summary:** In this episode of **The Swear Word**, Brandon Swear explores the science behind MSG, umami, food additives, flavor enhancers and the growing concept of food craveability…
Brandon SwearerHost
You may have heard that it's dangerous, it's addictive, it causes headaches, or it's basically poison.
You may have also heard the complete opposite, that it's completely harmless, and all of the concerns are just simply misinformation.
Glutamate acid is an amino acid, and a glutamate occurs naturally in many foods.
And that's the point, because the word chemical can make people think that something is automatically artificial.
water's chemistry, salt is chemistry, vitamin C and capsaicin, yep, that's still chemistry.
The question is, what chemical is it? How much of it are you consuming? And what does it actually do? So let's talk about the discovery of umami.
In 1908, a Japanese chemist named Kiko Nye, Ikeda was studying some kombu seaweed.
There was another sensation happening, something that was savory, something deep, something that made the broth taste, well, delicious.
He eventually identified glutamate as the major contributor to the sensation, and he called that taste umami.
The word is often translated roughly as pleasant, savory taste or deliciousness.
Eventually, umami became recognized as the fifth basic taste alongside things like sweet, salty, sour, and bitter.
You may have heard that it's dangerous, it's addictive, it causes headaches, or it's basically poison.
You may have also heard the complete opposite, that it's completely harmless, and all of the concerns are just simply misinformation.
Glutamate acid is an amino acid, and a glutamate occurs naturally in many foods.
And that's the point, because the word chemical can make people think that something is automatically artificial.
water's chemistry, salt is chemistry, vitamin C and capsaicin, yep, that's still chemistry.
The question is, what chemical is it? How much of it are you consuming? And what does it actually do? So let's talk about the discovery of umami.
In 1908, a Japanese chemist named Kiko Nye, Ikeda was studying some kombu seaweed.
There was another sensation happening, something that was savory, something deep, something that made the broth taste, well, delicious.
He eventually identified glutamate as the major contributor to the sensation, and he called that taste umami.
The word is often translated roughly as pleasant, savory taste or deliciousness.
Eventually, umami became recognized as the fifth basic taste alongside things like sweet, salty, sour, and bitter.
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