My saffron rice had MSG in it and it was (pretty) good.
On MSG, from "On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen":
"For better than a thousand years, the Japanese have been using the brown alga kombu as the base for soup stock. In 1908 a Japanese chemist, Kikunae Ikeda, found that kombu is an especially rich source of monosodium glutimate-in fact it forms crystals on the surface of dried kombu. He also found that MSG provides a unique, savory sensation umami(a rough translation is "delicious"), and pointed out that other foods, including meats and cheese, also provide it. For decades, Western scientists were skeptical that umami was a genuine taste sensation of its own, and not just a general taste enhancer. Finally, in 2001, biologist Charles Zucker...and colleagues demonstrated conclusively that humans and other animals do have a specific taste receptor for MSG.
...Ajinomoto is...a large multinational corporation; it and other companies produce MSG by the ton using bacteria that synthesize large amounts and excrete it into the liquid they grow in.
Beginning in the late 1960s, MSG was blamed for the "Chinese restaurant syndrome," in which distressing sensations of burning, pressure, and chest pain suddenly strike susceptible people who begin a Chinese meal with MSG-laden soup. Many studies later, toxicologists have concluded that MSG is a harmless ingredient for most people, even in large amounts. The most unfortunate aspect of the MSG saga is how it has been exploited to provide a cheap, one-dimensional substitute for real and remarkable foods."
"For better than a thousand years, the Japanese have been using the brown alga kombu as the base for soup stock. In 1908 a Japanese chemist, Kikunae Ikeda, found that kombu is an especially rich source of monosodium glutimate-in fact it forms crystals on the surface of dried kombu. He also found that MSG provides a unique, savory sensation umami(a rough translation is "delicious"), and pointed out that other foods, including meats and cheese, also provide it. For decades, Western scientists were skeptical that umami was a genuine taste sensation of its own, and not just a general taste enhancer. Finally, in 2001, biologist Charles Zucker...and colleagues demonstrated conclusively that humans and other animals do have a specific taste receptor for MSG.
...Ajinomoto is...a large multinational corporation; it and other companies produce MSG by the ton using bacteria that synthesize large amounts and excrete it into the liquid they grow in.
Beginning in the late 1960s, MSG was blamed for the "Chinese restaurant syndrome," in which distressing sensations of burning, pressure, and chest pain suddenly strike susceptible people who begin a Chinese meal with MSG-laden soup. Many studies later, toxicologists have concluded that MSG is a harmless ingredient for most people, even in large amounts. The most unfortunate aspect of the MSG saga is how it has been exploited to provide a cheap, one-dimensional substitute for real and remarkable foods."