Maillard reaction
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
If you brown it it will taste better. Here is why...
The Maillard reaction (French pronunciation: [majaŹ], mah-yar) is a form of nonenzymatic
browning similar to caramelization. It results from a chemical reaction between anamino
acid and a reducing sugar, usually requiring heat.
Vitally important in the preparation or presentation of many types of food, it is named after
chemist Louis-Camille Maillard, who first described it in the 1910s while attempting to
reproduce biological protein synthesis. The reactive carbonyl group of the sugar reacts with
the nucleophilic amino group of the amino acid, and forms a complex mixture of
poorly-characterized molecules responsible for a range of odors and flavors. This process is
accelerated in an alkaline environment, as the amino groups are deprotonated and, hence,
have an increased nucleophilicity. The type of the amino acid determines the resulting flavor.
This reaction is the basis of the flavoring industry. At high temperatures, acrylamide
can be formed.
In the process, hundreds of different flavor compounds are created. These compounds,
in turn, break down to form yet more new flavor compounds, and so on. Each type of food
has a very distinctive set of flavor compounds that are formed during the Maillard reaction.
It is these same compounds flavor scientists have used over the years to create reaction flavors.
