The Salt+MSG Founder's Tin
Kenji—curious chef and award winning author—is known for using science to make everyday cooking a little bit better.
After several years in the test kitchen, he perfected a precise blend of salt and msg that adds savory flavor to all your favorite foods. This simple tin is not magic, it's BADOP!
Put it on everything. Swap your salt and keep your recipes. Just add while cooking.
This is the Founder's Tin, our very first batch, made for early MSG believers. We packed an extra-large tin with 8.5 ounces of Salt+MSG, and every purchase gets you 5% off all orders for one year.
Go make something good.
The Salt+MSG Founder's Tin
MSG+Salt
MSG is good, actually. Swap your salt and make something delicious.
At Kenji’s exact ratio so you can season freely without overdoing it.
Add the savory hit chefs use to make restaurant food taste delicious.
Made to live on your counter, not in the back of your pantry.
Use it exactly like you would salt and get better results with the food you already cook.
Customer Reviews
Scientifically balanced by J. Kenji López-Alt for everyday cooking. Season freely without overloading your dish.
We just use kosher salt and pure MSG. With no fillers or additives to think about, you can just cook with it.
MSG lights up your receptors with pure umami flavor. Get big, savory notes with the same amount of salt you're used to.
I use this on eggs almost every morning and it’s wild how much better they taste. It doesn’t taste salty or weird, just more savory. Everything tastes more balanced and finished. Hard to go back.
I didn’t really believe the hype around MSG, but this made a noticeable difference right away. I use it the same way I used salt before. Now regular salt just feels kind of flat.
I cook pretty simply and didn’t want to learn anything new. This just slid into my routine and everything started tasting better. It’s very low effort, high payoff.
I use this on eggs almost every morning and it’s wild how much better they taste. It doesn’t taste salty or weird, just more savory. Everything tastes more balanced and finished. Hard to go back.
I didn’t really believe the hype around MSG, but this made a noticeable difference right away. I use it the same way I used salt before. Now regular salt just feels kind of flat.
I cook pretty simply and didn’t want to learn anything new. This just slid into my routine and everything started tasting better. It’s very low effort, high payoff.
Where MSG + salt shines
2-Hour Chicken Bone Broth Recipe (Sipping Broth)
Easy
About 2.5 hours
Gochujang Michelada Recipe (Spicy-Savory Beer Cocktail)
Easy
About 5 Minutes
Umeboshi Onigiri Recipe (Pickled Plum Musubi)
Easy
Under 30 Mins
Butter Oyster Sauce Spaghetti (10-Minute Recipe)
Easy
Under 30 Mins
Crispy Yuzu Pepper Chicken Wings with Miso and MSG
Medium
Under 30 Mins
BADOP! by J. Kenji López-Alt is a blend of kosher salt and pure monosodium glutamate (MSG), optimized for everyday cooking. It’s a true 1:1 replacement for salt that delivers more savory, deeper flavor with less sodium.
Kosher Salt + Monosodium Glutamate (produced via natural fermentation). That’s it.
Kenji designed BADOP! to use while you cook, just like regular salt. Marinate, season, and build flavor from the ground up. It works great as a finisher too!
No new techniques are required. If your recipe calls for a teaspoon of salt, use a teaspoon of BADOP! instead.
Keep it dry and keep it on your kitchen counter. Our tin is shelf-stable, and BADOP! is just salt + MSG, so it’s not going to expire before you eat it all anyway.
Yes to both. BADOP! is vegan, gluten-free, and calorie-free.
Serving size: 1/4 tsp (1.2g) • Servings per container: About 200
Calories: 0 • Total Fat: 0g • Sodium: 440mg (19% DV) • Total Carb: 0g • Protein: 0g
Not a significant source of saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, dietary fiber, total sugars, added sugars, vitamin D, calcium, iron, or potassium.
Monosodium glutamate is the salt form of glutamate, one of the most abundant amino acids in nature. Glutamate activates the savory, umami receptors on your tongue. That's what makes savory food more satisfying. It's produced through natural fermentation, the same way soy sauce, vinegar, and yogurt are made. Mystery solved and without any weird additives.
Not really, and that's the point. BADOP! is kosher salt plus MSG, so it has sodium like any other salt. The difference is how much you need. MSG adds umami, making your food more savory with just a pinch. Every chef knows, and hey, now you do too.
MSG = sodium + glutamate.
When MSG touches water or your tongue, it immediately separates into:
- Free glutamate
- Sodium ions
The sodium part just tastes salty and the glutamate part is what creates umami.
The active part of MSG is free glutamate, the exact same thing found naturally in kombu, tomatoes, parmesan, soy sauce, and mushrooms.
The key point is your body cannot tell the difference between:
- Free glutamate from kombu
- Free glutamate from tomato
- Free glutamate from parmesan
- Free glutamate from MSG
Chemically, they are the exact same molecule.
Kenji is one of the world’s foremost experts in culinary science. We partnered with him to dial in the ideal salt-to-MSG ratio so every pinch enhances the natural savoriness of the food you cook.
For any questions not covered above, please visit our FAQ or email support@badop.co
with 2 tins
Precise ratios. Nothing extra.
Blended & packed domestically.