Glutamate in Food

Food & Nutrition

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Although virtually every food will contain some amount of glutamate, some foods that are rich in glutamate can easily be combined in your favorite recipes.

Increasing the level of glutamate in a dish during cooking is a simple and effective way to increase umami taste and balance. In recipe development, glutamate is added at levels similar to those in traditional recipes.

Speaking of recipes, check out “Easy Ways to Kick Up Umami Flavor in Your Favorite Dishes.”

The chart below lists some of the most common, glutamate-rich foods, most of which can be found in your local grocery store.

Free* Glutamate Content of Foods	(mg / 100g)	Free* Glutamate Content of Foods	(mg / 100g)
Cow’s milk	2	Corn	106
Human (mother’s) milk	22	Potatoes	102
Chicken	22	Broccoli	176
Beef	10	Green peas	106
Cured ham	337	Tomatoes	246
Pork	9	Mushrooms	180
Oysters	137	Chinese cabbage (Napa)	100
Fish (mackerel)	215	Walnuts	658
Shrimp	43	Roquefort cheese	1280
Scallops	159	Parmesan cheese	1680
Egg yolks	46	Cheddar cheese	182
Green tea	32	Fish sauce	1383
Fresh tomato juice	260	Oyster sauce	900
Grape juice	258	Soy sauce	1264

*There are actually two forms of glutamate found in foods: bound and free. Since only free glutamate is effective in enhancing the flavor of food, the numbers above reflect only the amount of free glutamate for each item listed.

Spot the Difference

Medical specialists have known for decades that your body does not distinguish between the glutamate found naturally in foods and that in MSG. In fact, even today’s state-of-the-art technology can’t separate them. For example, if you analyzed a plate of spaghetti, you could find out the total amount of glutamate in the dish. However, since glutamate is glutamate, there is no way to determine whether the glutamate came from tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, or MSG.

We consume between 10g and 20g of glutamate per day from our diet, of which glutamate from seasoning or condiments is less than 10%. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration notes that a typical serving of a food with added MSG contains less than 0.5 grams of MSG.

Fast Facts: Glutamate is common and abundant throughout nature. It is a component of your body and your foods. Glutamate enhances the natural flavor of many foods, and is most effective when used with savory foods that contain protein (such as meat and vegetable dishes).
Learn more about glutamate here.

Did You Know? By a fermentation process similar to that used for making vinegar, beer, or soy sauce, MSG is produced from natural sources such as starch or molasses derived from sugar beet or sugar cane.
Read about how is MSG made, and is MSG natural?.