Maggie Chicken Bouillon Cube
Something that may be ordinary and familiar to you may in fact be completely foreign or strange to someone else. That's the wonderful thing about the world we live in. Because we are so culturally diverse, there is always something new to explore, learn, and experience everyday. When it comes to cooking, seasonings are an important part of the meal. It can be as simple as salt and pepper, or more intricate like herbs and spices. Today, I want to briefly talk about "Maggie Chicken Bouillon Cubes". So, why a post on Maggie? Well, not only is it a seasoning that I use in a lot of my posted recipes, but I also have had a lot of people ask me what this is. Most importantly, I just want you to be aware of certain things when it comes to this particular seasoning (which includes both good and bad).
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When I was little, I remember seeing these golden cubes in the spice cabinet quite frequently. It was usually something that we always had on hand just like salt or epis. There are several different brands of chicken bouillon cubes which essentially does the same thing. The Maggie brand is my favorite compared to others. Haitians in general will refer to any kind of bouillon cube as "maggie". Just 1 cube goes a long way and if used correctly, it makes everything so delicious, bursting with flavor. It's basically a concentrated cube of spices that turns liquid into a flavorful broth. However, this wonderful cube is not necessarily all that "wonderful". Keep on reading...
Let's first take a look at what Maggie looks like:
- They come in different sizes such as miniature cubes or bigger "tablets"
- The tablets can be the hard and crumbly kind (you usually have to crush it with your fingers) or the soft and dissolvable kind (which dissolves in hot liquid)
- They also come in a general "powder" form
- They come in a variety of flavors such a chicken, beef, and tomato.
In some of my recipes, I predominately use the tablet cubes. I prefer the hard and crumbly kind over the dissolvable tablets. If I am marinating meat, the dissolvable tablet forces me to include an extra step to dissolve it in liquid before I can pour it on the meat (which you may have noticed on certain recipes). Note the differences in the images below:
Overtime, my mother stopped using bouillon cubes and there's a very good reason why. The sodium content is ridiculously high. I mean, RIDICULOUSLY high. It's literally a cube of concentrated salt. So it's not great to use these on a regular basis, especially if you have high blood pressure. I still use it (sparingly) because lucky for me and my husband, we don't have high blood pressure. One of the alternatives that we've been using for years in place of Maggie is Goya Adobo All Purpose seasoning. I use this more than I use Maggie the majority of times and still come out with nearly the same results. One of the main reasons I still use Maggie in some of my recipes is because it is one of those things that is somewhat part of our culture. However, like I said, it does not have to be used and can always be substituted.
Another important thing I want you to be aware of is that Maggie does contain monosodium glutamate (MSG). It's a flavor enhancer that makes things taste so good, so delicious, and yummy to our tummy. Ever heard of the seasoning Accent? You can usually find it in the spice aisle of many grocery stores (as shown in the picture). Accent is literally MSG in a container. On the flip side, this same compound has received a lot of negative press. I won't get into the specifics but MSG affects certain people more than others with symptoms like headaches or nausea. In some people, it has no affect at all.
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Everything out there has some form of negative consequence, especially in excess. Depending on an individual's health, certain things prove to be harmful whereas it has no affect on another. The foods we eat do affect us. They provide us with nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and energy. They also provide us with things that we regrettably enjoy like excess sugar or salt. Just be cautious of what you intake on a regular basis.
If you're an individual that totally refuses Maggie, I hope it doesn't turn you away from trying one of my posted recipes that includes the cube. Just remove the Maggie from the ingredient list and proceed as usual. You can add additional salt to taste accordingly until it reaches your desired preference. You can also substitute it for Goya Adobo All Purpose Seasoning as mentioned before. Those of you who already use the cube, not only do I hope this shed some light on the seasoning, but I hope this website provides you with new options on how to put it to use in different recipes.
All in all, although Maggie has a high sodium content and contains MSG, it still makes food taste great. Take heed on how often you use it with these things in mind. Doesn't it suck how things that are so good sometimes ends up being so bad? Cookies, soda, cheesecake, pizza, burgers, red meat, candy, etc. etc. The list can go on but I hope you get my point. Enjoy them in moderation.
All in all, although Maggie has a high sodium content and contains MSG, it still makes food taste great. Take heed on how often you use it with these things in mind. Doesn't it suck how things that are so good sometimes ends up being so bad? Cookies, soda, cheesecake, pizza, burgers, red meat, candy, etc. etc. The list can go on but I hope you get my point. Enjoy them in moderation.
What are your thoughts on this post? Are you for or against Maggie?
Let me know and comment below!
Let me know and comment below!