1907, a researcher of Ikeda Miaoju at Imperial University in Tokyo, Japan, discovered a brown crystal left by the evaporation of seaweed soup, namely glutamic acid. These crystals have an indescribable but good taste. This flavor can be found in many foods in Ikeda, especially kelp. Professor Ikeda called this taste "umami". Then, he applied for a patent for the method of mass production of glutamic acid crystals. Professor Ikeda called sodium glutamate "the essence of taste". This "flavor essence", which was popular all over Japan, was soon introduced to China and renamed as "monosodium glutamate". Soon, monosodium glutamate became popular all over the world and became an indispensable condiment for people.

Monosodium glutamate, the scientific name is sodium glutamate. Its development has roughly three stages:

The first stage: 1866, Dr. H. Ritthasen, a German, separated amino acids from gluten. They call it glutamic acid, which is named glutamic acid or glutamic acid according to different raw materials (because gluten is extracted from wheat). From 1908 experiment of chrysanthemum seedlings in Ikeda, University of Tokyo, Japan, L- glutamic acid crystals were isolated from kelp. This crystal is the same substance as L- glutamic acid hydrolyzed by protein, and both of them are delicious.

The second stage: using gluten or soybean meal as raw materials, monosodium glutamate was produced by acid hydrolysis. 1965 was produced by this method before. The advantages of this method are high consumption, high cost, high labor intensity, high requirements for equipment and the need for acid-resistant equipment.

The third stage: with the progress of science and the development of biotechnology, the production of monosodium glutamate has undergone revolutionary changes. Since 1965, all monosodium glutamate factories in China have used grain (corn starch, rice starch, wheat starch and sweet potato starch) as raw materials, and obtained sodium glutamate which meets the national standards through microbial fermentation, extraction and refining, which has added a safe and nutritious condiment to the market and made the dishes more delicious after use.