eli5 Why do foods with msg feels stronger in flavour than foods that are naturally high in glutamate?

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Just a little bit of msg to foods feels very stimulating to my tongue unlike just having a high glutamate food like tomato by itself. What makes msg taste so punchy?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

The amount of msg per volume of powder is much greater than any naturally occurring source. A single pinch of msg powder has about 310 mg of msg in it. A single large tomato had about the same amount. So a pinch of msg is like a concentrated tomat. What’s more is the acidity of a tomato helps to balance out the savory flavor caused by the msg. Where a food with a more balanced flavor might not be able to counter the savoriness of the msg as well.