The Maillard Reaction

Image by Public Domain Pictures

“For British food scientists, toast color is no longer a matter of personal preference—it’s a matter of health.” 

The smell of fresh bread, or cooked crispy meat. Makes you wonder how does that happen? Each food product you cook with in the kitchen has two ingredients, proteins (amino acid) and sugars (reducing sugars) that lead to a reaction, which creates flavors and aroma. The most important in the reaction is heat. To start the reaction, the temperature needs to be above 300F to evaporate the protein on the surface of the product. This is an important first step because there are no enzymes that assist in the reaction. This process is called the Maillard reaction.