Maillard Reactions
The cooked color and flavor of bread crusts, chocolate, coffee beans, dark beers, and roasted meat are the result of a set of reactions named after its discoverer. Louis Camille Maillard (1878-1936) found that when small amounts of sugars or starches are heated in the presence of proteins or amino acids, a set of high-temperature chemical reactions takes place. This is the first of a series of complex reactions that lead to brown polymers and many highly flavored, as-yet uncharacterized chemicals. These complex reactions are still not fully understood. What we do know is that the Maillard reactions are responsible for the good flavor of heat-browned, carbohydrate- and protein-containing foods, such as grilled and roasted meats, onions and, of course, breads.14
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