Vintage Taste: '60s meat turnover still is a winner, with or without the MSG

Should we or shouldn't we?

Looking through the 1968 Duluth News Tribune cookbook, we were drawn to the recipe for Hamburger-Poppy Seed Turnovers, a pasty-like recipe that took first place in the meats category that year.

But among the seasonings for the savory ground beef and onion filling in the short-crust pastry was monosodium glutamate, commonly known today as MSG.

We stopped short.

It's not exactly a sought-after ingredient in today's food.

Resembling coarse white salt, MSG is an amino acid extracted from seaweed and other foods high in protein. It's used as a flavor enhancer, especially in Asian food. Some people are MSG-sensitive. Eating foods containing MSG can cause headaches, dizziness, skin flushing and nausea. Still, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has concluded MSG is safe.

Vintage Taste aims to provide glimpses of cooking styles and typical dishes of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Monosodium glutamate was, indeed, used in the 1960s ... and without reservations. So we share the winning recipe submitted by Mrs. Larry T. Peak of Route 3, Box 631 of Duluth.

And if you wish, just leave out the monosodium glutamate.

Hamburger-Poppy Seed Turnovers

Pastry

2 cups sifted flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoon poppy seeds

2/3 cup shortening

6 tablespoons cold water

Filling

1/4 cup minced onion

1 tablespoon shortening

1 pound ground beef

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon monosodium glutamate (optional in 2008)

10-3/4-ounce can condensed cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup

Sift flour and salt together; fold in poppy seeds. Cut in shortening and water. Blend until it holds together well. Roll and cut in circles.

For filling, brown onion in shortening; stir in beef and brown lightly. Add remaining ingredients and cook until liquid is absorbed. Put scoops of filling on circle crusts. Fold into half-moons and pinch together with fork. Bake 20 minutes in 425-degree oven.

Instead of baking them right away, they can be frozen and later baked 5 to 10 minutes longer.

Serves 6.

Each week, Vintage Taste features a recipe from News Tribune cookbooks published from 1954 to 1974, compiled with recipes submitted in annual contests. Share comments at (218) 723-5329 or e-mail crenalls@duluthnews.com .