# Monosodium Glutamate: A Flavour Enhancer Explored: answers and explanations

Cambridge IELTS 7, Test 4, Listening Part 4

Source: Recording, questions and answer key from Cambridge IELTS 7, Test 4, Listening Part 4. © Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Used for educational practice. Explanations and evidence notes are written by Testmigo.

## Answer key

| Q | Answer | Proof |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 31 | B | And more importantly, how does it enhance the flavor of food? |
| 32 | C | was actually discovered to be glutamate by scientists working there. |
| 33 | A | industrial production increased dramatically |
| 34 | water | 12.2% sodium and 9.6% water. |
| 35 | meat | So this includes food such as meat and cheese. |
| 36 | cheese | So this includes food such as meat and cheese. |
| 37 | 5th taste | Kikunae Ikeda identified a fifth taste |
| 38 | common | because it is the amino acid which is most common in natural foods. |
| 39 | bitterness | Bitterness, he says, alerts us to toxins in the food |
| 40 | minerals | and saltiness signals the presence of minerals. |

## Why these answers are right

**31. B.** The speaker says the lecture will explore why MSG is popular in Chinese and Japanese cooking and, more importantly, how it enhances the flavor of food. More importantly marks the main topic, which is how MSG works, so B is right; its history is only background.

**32. C.** The question asks what happened in Japan in 1908. The speaker says that in 1908 scientists found that the ingredient in kombu responsible for the better flavor was glutamate, so they identified it. Kombu had been used for thousands of years, and commercial production came afterwards.

**33. A.** You need the change made in 1956. Before then glutamate was extracted by a slow, expensive method; in 1956 the process sped up and industrial production increased dramatically, which means large-scale manufacture, A. Option C reverses the facts, because the costly method came before 1956.

The why and the trap for questions 34 onwards are free with an account on the [answers page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/monosodium-glutamate-a-flavour-enhancer-explored/answers).

## Transcript

**Announcer:** Section 4, you will hear part of a lecture about a chemical substance called monosodium glutamate.

**Announcer:** First, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40.

**Announcer:** Now listen carefully, and answer questions 31 to 40.

**Speaker:** In today's lecture, I'm going to talk about monosodium glutamate, or MSG as it's more commonly known.

**Speaker:** Now, MSG as you probably know is a flavor enhancer,

**Speaker:** which is used particularly in Chinese and Japanese cooking.

**Speaker:** Today, I am going to explore why it is so popular in these cuisines.

**Speaker:** And more importantly, how does it enhance the flavor of food?

**Speaker:** The main reason why MSG is more commonly used in Japanese meals is tradition.

**Speaker:** For many thousands of years, the Japanese have incorporated a type of seaweed.

**Speaker:** Known as kombu in their cooking, as they discovered it had the ability to make food taste better.

**Speaker:** But it wasn't until 1908 that the ingredient in kombu which was responsible for the improvement in flavor, was actually discovered to be glutamate by scientists working there.

**Speaker:** From 1908 until 1956 glutamate was produced commercially in Japan by a very slow and expensive means of extraction.

**Speaker:** It was in 1956 that the speed of the process was improved, and industrial production increased dramatically, and still continues to increase to this day.

**Speaker:** In fact, hundreds of thousands of tonnes of MSG are produced all over the world today.

**Speaker:** So what exactly is MSG?

**Speaker:** Well monosodium glutamate contains 78.2% glutamate, 12.2% sodium and 9.6% water.

**Speaker:** Glutamate is an amino acid that can be found naturally in all protein containing foods.

**Speaker:** So this includes food such as meat and cheese.

**Speaker:** It is widely known that Chinese and Japanese food contains MSG.

**Speaker:** But many people don't seem to be aware that it is also used in foods in other parts of the world.

**Speaker:** For example, it is found in commercially made Italian pizzas.

**Speaker:** In American fast food, and in Britain, MSG is used in things like potato crisps.

**Speaker:** So, how exactly does MSG work?

**Speaker:** Well, in the western world, we commonly talk of four tastes, and I'm sure you're all familiar with the concepts of sweet, sour, bitter, and salt.

**Speaker:** Well, in 1908, Kikunae Ikeda identified a fifth taste, and it is thought that MSG intensifies this naturally occurring 'taste' in some food.

**Speaker:** It does make perfect evolutionary sense that we should have the ability to detect or taste glutamate, because it is the amino acid which is most common in natural foods.

**Speaker:** John Prescott, an associate professor at the University of Chicago, suggests that this fifth taste serves a purpose just as the other tastes do.

**Speaker:** He suggests that it signals to us the presence of protein in food, in the same way that sweetness indicates that a food contains energy giving carbohydrates.

**Speaker:** Bitterness, he says, alerts us to toxins in the food, while sourness warns us of spoilage, and saltiness signals the presence of minerals.

**Speaker:** So what else do we know about this fifth taste?

**Announcer:** That is the end of Section 4.

**Announcer:** You now have half a minute to check your answers.

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