- “Better Than Bouillon concentrated bases are made from meat, poultry, seafood and vegetables. This gives them a richer, more robust flavor than ordinary bouillons. No added MSG, low or no fat, lower sodium: Better Than Bouillon bases have 1/3 less salt than ordinary bouillons.” Better Than Bouillon: Ingredients. Chicken meat including.
- Premium 3.5 oz. Better Than Bouillon Gift Set. The Better Than Bouillon® Gift Pack brings together all of the classic More Info.
My first rule for Real Food newbies is so simple. The only thing I ask is this: that you start looking at the ingredients label of everything (and I mean everything) that you buy or eat. You’d think it’d be easy. But sometimes we self-delude. Or perhaps we just don’t know what all the ingredients on a label actually are, so they don’t scare us (or disgust us) like they should.Well, I thought you might enjoy a series of posts in which I examine the labels of some of the more popular “healthy” foods out there.
In that spirit, I’m starting a weekly Decoding Labels post. In this series, I’ll highlight deceptive labeling practices, hidden ingredients, and more! If you’ve got a particular label pet-peeve you’d like me to share, please feel free to with your idea.This week’s villain?.is marketed as an MSG-free, better-tasting alternative to bouillon.
You can use it as a replacement for bouillon in recipes. Here’s what the label claims:“Better Than Bouillon concentrated bases are made from meat, poultry, seafood and vegetables. This gives them a richer, more robust flavor than ordinary bouillons. No added MSG, low or no fat, lower sodium: Better Than Bouillon bases have 1/3 less salt than ordinary bouillons.” Better Than Bouillon: Ingredients.
Better than bouillon chicken favor recipe. Learn how to cook great Better than bouillon chicken favor. Crecipe.com deliver fine selection of quality Better than bouillon chicken favor recipes equipped with ratings, reviews and mixing tips.
Chicken meat including natural chicken juices,. salt,. sugar,.
corn syrup solids,. chicken fat,.
hydrolyzed soy protein,. dried whey (milk),. flavoring,. disodium inosinate and guanylate,. turmeric.Better Than Bouillon: DECODEDAt first glance, the product looks somewhat promising. After all, it’s made from real meat.
Surely that’s a plus right there? It sounds like it’s just a concentrated form of broth.
It doesn’t have MSG! Surely that’s a plus, too? Maybe if you’re trying to eat less processed foods, you’d see this label and think that perhaps this was a healthier alternative to bouillon.But the actual ingredients give the product away. The first thing we can say with certainty is that there is plenty of MSG in this product!
(Read about.)How do I know that? Because hydrolyzed soy protein is an ingredient that always contains MSG! Because the manufacturer didn’t add an ingredient called “mono-sodium glutamate,” they can “truthfully” claim “No MSG added” on their label. Yet, nothing is stopping them from adding ingredients that contain MSG. In that case, the manufacturer only has to list the name of the actual ingredient added, not the ingredients within those ingredients.Because of this little-known fact, another ingredient on this label should give us pause: flavoring. MSG often hides in “flavoring,” “natural flavoring,” or “spices.” Furthermore, the process used to create the dried whey produces — you guessed it — MSG!And, as if that isn’t damning enough, the presence of disodium inosinate and guanylate alone would convince the savvy label-reader that MSG is certainly present.
Because these food additives are completely ineffective and useless without MSG! These are flavor enhancers that work in conjunction with MSG. There’s absolutely no reason for them to be there unless MSG is also there. For more on where MSG may be hiding in your food labels, I’ve created a handy, downloadable, easy-to-print guide for you.CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A LIST OF MSG-CONTAINING INGREDIENTSAside from all the MSG-containing and complimenting ingredients, the rest of the label is spotty as well.
Corn syrup solids? Hello, highly-refined, genetically-engineered corn! While this may seem harmless enough, chances are good that even this ingredient is made from genetically-engineered sugar beets. These highly-processed ingredients have no place in the Real Food kitchen. Better Than Bouillon: THE VERDICTSo, what should you use instead?Homemade broth, of course! Want to know how bouillon came to usurp the traditional, nutrient-rich bone broth? Read.Making homemade broth is easy!
Check out this post on. Kristen Michaelis CNC has been a Health and Nutrition Educator since 2008. Founder and CEO of Food Renegade, she's a passionate advocate for REAL FOOD - food that's sustainable, organic, local, and traditionally-prepared according to the wisdom of our ancestors.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts ( summa cum laude) from Dallas Baptist University in Philosophy and Biblical Studies, then began her post-graduate journey as a researcher in the fields of health and nutrition. While she adores hats & happy skirts, nothing inspires her quite like geeking out over nutrition & sustainable agriculture. &, she's also a who enjoys playing in the rain, a good bottle of Caol Isla scotch, curling up with a page-turning book, sunbathing on her hammock, and parenting her three children as they grow into young adults.
Hi Kim,Better Than Bouillon makes many different flavors, so it’s no surprise that yours is different. At first glance:“Maltodextrin” — this food additive is almost always made from genetically-modified corn. It is a thickening agent that is sweet, but has fewer calories than sugar. It’s not.necessarily. an evil-bad ingredient, but it often is.“Natural flavor” — often, this contains MSG. But again, sometimes it doesn’t.“Celery concentrate” — this flavorful additive is often added instead of MSG, so it’s likely there is little to no hidden MSG in this product.“Caramel color” — This may be the most worrisome ingredient here. Although it is “naturally” derived, this food coloring can be made a number of ways (most involving genetically-engineered corn).
The process by which it’s created can leave residual ammonium and sulfites. Studies have been done on the safety of caramel color that show it interferes with the metabolism of B6, reduces white blood cell count, softens feces, and has a carcinogenic effect. Come on.tell the whole truth. Let’s have the scientific evidence about amounts used. The percentages to the whole. And what it actually takes to be a problem.
This is an occasional ingredient. And the percentage to the total of the dish is negligible.
If you are not allergic to any of these. Use them as you wish. It is OUR choice. Based on the scientific information that is abundant. Just a little and consider those that may just not be able to afford the things that you can.
This makes people feel bad about themselves and what they are forced to feed their families. That’s the point of the article Jim, to inform people so that we can make a choice about what we eat.
Are you aware that this is not the only product on the market that contains MSG? Condiments, salad dressings, most all processed prepared foods and most all processed fast food, spices etc. Et al, ad nauseum are often consumed on a daily basis sometimes three meals a day and snacks!It’s your choice and your life to live as you wish, eat what you want the same as it’s my right to make informed choices, to do some research and put some effort into maintaining a healthy diet no matter what my budget is.
I’m a single mom on a tight budget. Since I cut out junk food, fast food, processed convenience foods and switched them out for whole foods to cook, organic (including organic processed foods like condiments, salad dressings, mac n’ cheese, cereal, beans, pasta) and non-GMO foods, not only are we healthier, but my food budget is LESS than it was two years ago. Junk comes at a cost. I never thought to look for the “disodium inosinate and guanylate.” Salt content alone would have that crap back on the shelf.My husband had a mini-stroke in May of last year, at the age of 40. He was healthy (looking) and trim, and towing our youngins on the bike at time.
Since that moment, excess sodium has been our enemy since his blood pressure is an inherited trait.Salt and MSG travel together, and one often “replaces” the other. I actually saw “lower sodium than table salt!” advertised on a jar of Accent. You see the reverse as well. Salt gets cranked up to replace the MSG and the label brags about it. I also went straight to the fridge because I would never buy anything with soy protein in it.My Organic Better Than Bouillon Chicken Baseingredient list reads: chicken meat and natural juices, maltodextrin, salt, chicken stock, cane sugar, chicken fat, potato starch, yeast extract, dried onion, dried garlic, turmeric, natural flavorI would be so interested to know if mine has msg and soy protein in it – I have not seen any negative reactions to it in my soy allergic children that would lead me to believe that there is any msg or soy in it. Most of the anti-nutrients are broken down in the heat of cooking (though not all).
The biggest concern with re-using vegetable cooking water is the potential for excess nitrates to collect, although plants grown in a rich organic soil will be less likely to have this problem than conventionally grown produce (which will have been inundated with nitrogen-rich fertilizers).A number of vitamins do leech out of the veggie and into the water, so re-using the water is a good way to get those vitamins.So, I guess my answer is that it depends! Great post, and I’m really looking forward to more!I learned a few years ago that the word “Added” usually meant it was in the product, but just not on the ingredient list. Oscar Meyer came out with hot dogs that have “No Added Nitrates Or Nitrites!” Then, in very tiny letters, something like “other than those naturally occuring in celery salt”).So I got a migraine for 3 days. And Oscar Meyer got an earful the next week.Now I don’t eat processed foods anyway, but it definitely taught me a lesson.
Incidentally, right now I’m making chicken broth from scratch, right now, as I type this! That broiled chicken that’s been completely stripped of its meat we finished for dinner tonight? I threw it in a pot, added onions and some old radishes, waterand now it’s boiling.
(The chicken had previously only been seasoned with rosemary from my backyard and garlic. No salt.)I’m not the best at following recipes. Often, I experiment and improvise, and it turns out pretty good.
Although, I’m sure I could make a tastier broth if I actually followed a recipe! April Miles Thornton — Yes, Shelley asked about the Organic Chicken Base version in one of the earlier post comments. You can read my response to her to see how that particular version measures up.
There are a lot of versions of the Better Than Bouillon available (in chicken, beef, lobster, ham, and various veggie varieties, plus organic, non-organic, fat-free, low-sodium, etc.). To review them all would be impractical. I linked to the one I actually reviewed within the post itself, and you’ll find that it’s the regular chicken version. You’re right that the pic is for the organic version, but that’s because it was the only pic of these products that I could casually use that was large enough for my post. Hope that helps!
A bouillon is an awesome flavour enhancer, but the crap on the store shelves is, well crap, as you’ve pointed out. And, while stock absolutely should be the base liquid for soups, stews, sauces and more, I have the most amazing bouillon to add to EVERYTHING not just liquid stuff – we use it in burgers and meatloaf, for instance. It’s dead easy to make and keeps forever:It’s really flexible and you can create different versions based on what you have on hand or what’s coming up in the garden, etc.
Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base
For instance, you could make this using just onion, carrot and celery (classic mirepoix) and add thyme, sage, savory, rosemary (bouquet garni) for a classic French cooking flavour base.One of my fave ways of using this is to put a teaspoon into hot stock (a la Gaps) for a super nutritious cup of soup: ultra fast food 🙂. Condiments and products like BTB are some of the toughest areas to eliminate bad ingredients. I occasionally use BTB organic beef version in a recipe. Unfortunately the deep flavor is hard to beat and replace, although I will continue to look for alternatives and update the few recipes it goes into.There is a good app from the Center for Public Science (CSPI) I have on my iPHone called Chemical Cuisine. Very helpful for looking up ingredients in labels when you are shopping. It’s free on their site. Yes, you may read my reply to Shelley above, when she submitted the ingredients to the Organic Better Than Bullion Chicken.Please note, this post is not about the organic chicken base, but the regular chicken base I linked to in the post.Better Than Bullion has many varieties of base — for many types of meat, seafood, and veggies and in combinations of low-fat, low-sodium, organic and non organic.
I could only write the post about a single variety, so I chose perhaps the most used one — the regular chicken.Hope that helps! Make your own broth! It’s not that difficult; and you will know exactly what’s in it and what’s not. There are so many questionable things out there, in pretty boxes, cans, and plastic wrapping, I feel much better knowing what I’m eating, without the ‘stuff’ that’s added just for flavor. If you make your own meals from fruits, veggies, and whatever else, AND you’re not addicted to sugar/salt/caffeine, you’d be amazed at how much flavor there really is in a homemade meal. I know time is an issue for most people; but isn’t your body worth a little extra prep time?
I’m a retired Navy single mother of three, with two still at home. I sleep better (not much, but better) knowing they’re eating good food grown locally by someone with whom I can shake hands once a week, as I give them a few measley dollars for all their hard work, instead of forking over half a paycheck to a grocery store whose produce is flown in from as far as South Africa! Why would I want to eat produce from a foreign country, aside from bananas, when apples, peaches, avocadoes, and so much more is grown in my state (SC) or in neighboring states?! I won’t even start on the toxic crap found in cans/boxes that can all be avoided with just a few extra hours of home cooking — I know it’s a lot, and I cook/prep on weekends and at night sometimes. I’m worth it and so are my kids.
Better Than Bouillon Flavors List
Homemade is cheaper, simpler, and smarter. Just some thoughts from a coutry girl who’s been around the world, but still appreciates the clean, clear, and simple things in life. Awesome article! I have two questions. How about Squid/Prawn brand fish sauce, does it contain MSG?
The ingredients are Anchovy Extract, Salt, and Sugar. It seems ok, but I have read that the extraction process may use MSG.As I understand it, from reading about Dr Russel Blaylock, the real problem with MSG, is that it is a glutamic acid and becomes an Excitotoxin in our bodies. It may be the cause of Alzheimer’s, Dementia, and Parkensons. This is serious. So, many items and processes in cooking contain and or release naturally occuring glutimates. Are naturally occurring glutimates bad like MSG?Thanks again, your willingness to share your knowledge is greatly appreciated.
I am from a family with multiple food allergies. Last year, after reading a laundry list of symptoms for gluten intolerance that were ALL mine as well, I started trying to go gluten free.
What a chore! I have read labels until I am blue in the face. As for chicken, try finding a package of run-of-the-mill fresh or frozen that doesn’t list “with chicken broth” or some similar statement. Who knows what is really in that ‘broth’? I have been leery of MSG for decades, and am appalled that a friend still makes their ‘signature salad’ with a very heavy sprinkling of Accent, which is pure MSG, and boiled eggs. With a newly diagnosed egg allergy as well, no wonder I used to always get sick after eating with them!
I thought it was drinking too much wine, LOL! You ought to research their product “organic” better than bouillon chicken base. This stuff is too good to be true. I make a huge vegetable concoction (tons of diced vegetables, spices, chicken broth) it tastes OK.
I add this stuff and it tastes amazing!! This Organic Chicken Base is too good to be true. Of course it has salt and sugar, but the shady ingredients are organic “flavoring”, organic “natural flavoring.” SO it not only lists natural flavoring as an ingredient, but also flavoring as a separate specific ingredient.
Organic natural flavoring could be anything, and organic flavoring could be anything. A spoonful of this made my huge vegetable concoction go from OK to amazing. I don’t trust this stuff one bit. Please investigate what is in their organic version of Better than Bouillon Chicken Base!!!!!!
I don’t trust this stuff for a second. I say to Jim who wrote back in Nov of last year. Is a little bit of poop in your brownies ok with you? It’s just a teeny little bit, so why the fuss?Most of us know that all it takes, in some cases, is a miniscule amount of a drug/plant/ingredient, for instance, to do serious damage and in certain cases an almost microscopic amount can cause death. Small amounts matter when they are going INTO my body!
While you may not have an immediate reaction to some of these things, they can do damage over time. Oftentimes these things don’t show up in our health as problems until we are in our 40’s or 50’s. Thanks though for the analysis!!!I can’t make my own stock these days because I’m pregnant and That Smell is my #1 aversion (my hyper sensitive nose can smell the evil miasma around the Crockpot, months after my last batch of broth), so I’ve been experimenting. Cooking with pre-made broth seems ok (after 3 months of aversion to any cooking smells), but since those boxes of broth are costly, I have been trying alternatives Such as Better Than Bouillion. (Which actually I don’t love)I was just wondering what the problem was again with those bouillion cubes of my childhood – Google said salt and MSG. So it’s frustrating that Better Than Bouillion is playing not-so-cute games with semantics – no MSG technically, but really we know we’re lying. But good to know!Any concerns with those boxes of broth?
Even though your post on Better Than Bouillon is several years old, I thought you might like to know that now in late 2016, things are even worse. My wife has been using BTB for several years, but just ran out. I decided to try buying some online and have now discovered that the product we have been using (we buy by the case) is extinct. BTB Organic, Reduced sodium. Vegetable Base in a 16 oz jar has been replaced by a similar product in 8 oz jar with added canola oil, gluten, and higher sodium!
I sent an email to the company to express my disappointment, but suggesting that they were the poster child for companies that screw up a good product just to make an extra buck will probably not win me any free coupons for more of their inedible products. Full disclosure dictates that the formerly good product that we have been using did contain maltodextrin, so maybe it wasn’t so healthy, after all. But other than that, it did seem pretty safe. Then again, no prepared food is ever really safe. Thank you for this information.
My husband recently had quadruple bypass surgery and I’ve had to throw the salt shaker away. I thought maybe better than bouillon would be good to add to food to give a little more flavor but being that it has MSG, which I consider the worst poison on this planet, I would never buy this product.
I’ve always been an advocate of getting rid of MSG in our food. I’ve called Knorr soup company and they won’t take it out. Schilling and McCormick and Lowry’s have taken MSG out of their products. I always call the companies when there is MSG in the food and tell them to stop putting it in there.