Watch David Chang's MAD Talk on the Stigma of MSG

Here's video of chef David Chang at this year's MAD Symposium in Denmark in which he discusses that much-maligned yet ever-present ingredient, MSG. Chang makes the argument that MSG allergies are not just a myth, they're a cultural construct: "There's a group of diners that tends to not eat Asian food. So I'm not saying anyone's wrong here, I'm attaching this to American culture. There seems to be this urban myth that 'I can't eat Asian food because it's going to make me feel bad.'" Chang goes on to describe the processes his restaurants use to harness naturally occurring umami flavors. Below, Chang talks about umami, taboos, perception, and natural versus artificial flavoring.

Video: David Chang at MAD 2012

· David Chang at MAD 2012 [MAD]
· All David Chang Coverage on Eater [-E-]