A Pinch Of MSG Takes Your Tomato Toast To The Next Level

If you've ever grown a tomato plant before, then you know all too well that when it starts producing fruit, that bad boy doesn't stop until the season is over. Tomato toast is a great way to use up an abundant tomato harvest, and it's also a killer vehicle for showcasing a beautiful tomato haul from the local farmers market. But, if you find that your tried and true tomato toast is getting a little boring, spice it up (or should we say, season it up) with a pinch of MSG.

Contrary to some still-circulating false press, MSG isn't bad for you in moderation – and it's like any other seasoning. "MSG" stands for "monosodium glutamate," which is salt, water, and glutamic acid, a common and naturally occurring amino acid found in foods folks eat every day without thinking about it. MSG seasoning is essentially a deeply savory salt, capturing flavor essences already present in glutamic-acid-high foods such as eggs, soy sauce, prosciutto, kimchi, anchovies, shiitake mushrooms, Parmesan cheese, and (you guessed it) tomatoes.

Even at a molecular level, MSG and tomato make a naturally fitting flavor pairing. Sweet, acidic tomatoes are complexified and enhanced with a little piquant saltiness. Like any seasoning, just a sprinkle of MSG is generally enough to get the job done. Take care not to over-season your toast. Also, we don't want floppy bread here. Opt for a thick, toasted, crusty bread that won't fold under the weight of those beefy tomatoes.

To really drive that umami profile home, you could smear some Kewpie mayo on your MSG tomato toast. It'll also add a welcome moisture element. To season, hit it with some smoked Maldon sea salt flakes and shredded fresh basil or dried onion flakes. You could even bulk it up with other umami ingredients to take that MSG tomato toast to dinner territory. Soy sauce-marinated eggs, sauteed Spam slices, furikake seaweed flakes, spicy kimchi, baby arugula, cracked black pepper, shredded pickled ginger, seafood mushrooms, ricotta, sopressata, and black and white sesame seeds would all work well here. 

MSG isn't just for straight-up tomato toast, either. You could add a sprinkle of MSG to this Spanish pan con tomate with Roma tomatoes, garlic, and thyme on ciabatta. Or, for an elevated breakfast, try sprinkling some MSG on this savory cacio e pepe French toast with tomatoes, basil, and pecorino cheese. Incidentally, preserving jammy tomatoes in jars is a great way to stretch your harvest, and jammy tomatoes with MSG also make a delicious toast topping year-round. Plus, at a Walmart in New York, a 16-ounce bulk bag of Ajinomoto MSG costs just $10 – a low-cost investment considering you'll only need a small pinch per serving of tomato toast. With that bulk bag in hock, you can put shelf-stable MSG to good use in many of your other go-to recipes, as well.