a bunch of uses/ideas here

Yes, I saw this site but none of the recipes feature the actual seasoning just other products made by the Maggie Company.

I have never tasted Maggi but I'm going to get some now because I'm curious about it.

I suspect that you can use it any time you need a umami boost. I add Marmite or Vegemite to stews, soups, chili, beef based stir fry, etc. to amp up the flavor. Imagine that Maggi would be similarly useful.

I think if you like marmite you will like Maggie. It really has umami. It says to just use a few drops but I would like actual recipes. It might sub for Soy sauce as well.

The Swiss (originating country before it became part of a conglomerate) version's ingredients are: Water, salt, hydrolysed soya protein, Sodium glutamate, Disodium inosinate (E631), Yeast extract, Citric acid, acetic acid, wheat and “aroma.”.

That's from an info page at Cook's Info

Oooh, those are nasty ingredients. I'll pass!

Thanks, pillog! The link was really interesting and sure promotes Maggi seasoning. It is really yummy - much more complex than Soy and Worcestershire alone.

Why Compumom?

Oh, I"m glad that was useful. I had to take a call, and was going to add comparisons:

Vegemite is yeast extract, salt, barley malt extract, potassium chloride, chemical color, "spice extract" containing celery, niacin, thiamin, riboflavin and folic acid.

Marmite is: Salt, Yeast extract, Spice extract, Niacin, Vitamin B12, Riboflavin, Folic acid, Thiamin, according to Wired.

I.e., Vegemite and Marmite are pretty interchangeable.

The thing they all have in common is MSG. Whenever you see Autolyzed Yeast Extract on an ingredients list, think MSG.

The Cook's Info page said about the Maggi Seasoning that European chefs in the USA back when were begging importers to bring in Maggi. Which reminds me of the "Italian home cooking secret" I used to read about constantly. Italian mamas would start their sautés with bouillon cubes, the stand out ingredient of which is MSG. ETA: It seems that yeast extract has glutamates that are the same as in MSG but not as many? I don't quite understand that.

Which is not a problem if you don't have sodium intake issues, but it's always good to be aware of just what's in stuff...

ETA--This Wikipedia page about yeast extract is interesting and mentions all of these products

Okay, I found this explanation about glutamates and MSG on the Whole Foods website very clear. The upshot is that they are the same glutamates, but in MSG they're so concentrated that they're an issue, whereas the amount in the yeast extracts is more food-like. I just knew that a lot of manufacturers had switched from MSG to yeast extracts. I wonder how different it is in big batch cooking, using less MSG or more yeast extract. I do get the headache from some fast foods, but haven't from yeast extract in products, so the below explanation does make sense to me:

Myth: There's Hidden MSG lurking in our aisles And now to this post's aforementioned myth and/or misconception: Ever since the TV show 60 Minutes aired a story about MSG in the early 1990s, we've been getting calls and emails from customers concerned that there's secret MSG hidden behind our labels. The short answer is that MSG, or monosodium glutamate, is an unacceptable ingredient at Whole Foods Market, thus not allowed in any of our products. We don't allow it because it's an artificial flavor enhancer that's inconsistent with the idea of natural food. But the ongoing confusion about the ingredient is complicated, and requires us to look at some of the chemicals responsible for food tasting good. The term "glutamate" refers to a number of forms of glutamic acid, an amino acid found naturally in many foods (and in our bodies). Cheese, milk, meat, peas, seaweed and mushrooms are a few of the foods containing the highest levels of natural glutamate, and this substance is largely responsible for the phenomenon of umami, the "fifth taste" of savory, meaty foods. In fact, the discovery of the link between glutamates and savory flavors led the Japanese food scientist Kikunae Ikeda in 1908 to the commercial development of monosodium glutamate. MSG is a synthetically derived and highly concentrated flavor enhancer that is almost completely made up of glutamates. It's so powerful that just a few drops can drastically change the flavor of a dish. As the 60Minutes story exposed, it's also so powerfully concentrated that it can cause severe reactions in people who are hypersensitive to it. While the scientific basis of the set of symptoms known as "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome" has been debated and doubted by many, the phenomenon has caused a lot of people to carefully and diligently avoid MSG. A number of consumer groups have claimed that certain food ingredients, such as autolyzed yeast and hydrolyzed protein, are MSG in disguise. They are not. Autolyzed yeast and hydrolyzed proteins, among other ingredients, are completely natural ingredients that happen to be have substantial amounts of glutamates, but nowhere near the concentration found in MSG. While a small subset of people may be sensitive to even these small levels of glutamate, these ingredients are always clearly identified on the labels so that, as with all food sensitivities and allergies, people can be aware of ingredients they'd like to avoid. These are natural ingredients that are definitely of grave concern for people who are sensitive to them, but they are not MSG. We draw a clear line between natural glutamate-containing foods, which we allow, and highly concentrated MSG, which we don't.

Whoa Pillog, what happened to your post?

I am not a fan of some of the chemicals. I personally can't eat wheat or soy, but I'm not a fan of "Sodium glutamate, Disodium inosinate (E631).

Well, with just a dash or two in recipes, I’m not going to worry. I have no food allergies or sensitivities.

I'm sorry, Provogal! I don't mean to co-opt your thread ,but I wanted to add that another alternative, which goes straight to the source, is Bragg's Liquid Aminos. Ingredients: Bragg Liquid Aminos is not fermented, is Gluten-Free and made from non-GMO soybeans and purified water. It is an excellent alternative for Tamari and Soy Sauce.

Here are some sites with recipes with Maggi. Note that the Swiss version of Maggi is different from the Mexican versions, etc. There are also many discussions on Chowhound, and an article on The Kitchn. If you read through these recipes, you'll see the advice given uptopic in action. Just add a dash as needed. :)

https://www.yummly.com/recipes/maggi-seasoning-sauce

https://snapguide.com/supplies/maggi-seasoning-sauce/

https://www.pickledplum.com/recipe/brussel-sprouts-maggi-seasoning-recipe/

https://www.elmejornido.com/en/recipes/maggi-salmon-140270

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/chicken-milanesa-with-maggi-ranch-sauce

Provogal, I'm guessing "what happened to your post?" was referring to the cut and paste artifacts that were hidden when I pasted the ingredients from Wired, but wouldn't let me edit or delete, so my only choice was to post then edit. It's fixed. :) Well, long winded, but the weird previously hidden crap is gone. :)

Provogal, the next time you have a pea, potato or bean soup add a few drops and stir it in. Try a vinaigrette of EVOO, balsamic, dijon and a few drops of Maggi. Stir it into a Bloody Mary or stir some of the beef granules for a Bloody Bull.

Just looked at the bottle in my fridge. Best before Oct 20, 2014. Oops! Wonder what I bought it for. Level is still up in the shoulder/neck area so I guess I didn’t use much.

Another of these salt and flavor boosters is Japanese plum sauce. It's a thin liquid and acidic.