The blog of cooking-ez.com
Maillard reactions
This subject cropped up recently in a discussion with my three charming nieces; do you know what Maillard reactions are?
With a name like that, they could well be some principle in mechanics, but in fact the term applies to something much closer to all of us: it's what gives food more flavour cooked than when raw!
With a name like that, they could well be some principle in mechanics, but in fact the term applies to something much closer to all of us: it's what gives food more flavour cooked than when raw!
30K 11 2.9
Last modified on: January 28th 2015
Maillard reactions
How does it work? Ah, well – that's not so simple! These are complex physiochemical reactions explained by a 19th century French chemist, Louis-Camille Maillard, with a superb moustache. Basically (and I'm simplifying drastically here) when one cooks certain foods, various brown compounds form, sugars in particular, which add flavour and sometimes a “crust” like that around well-roasted meat.
You might think that there is nothing revolutionary in that, and that you already knew it: cooked meat has more flavour than raw meat! Of course that's true, but it took the good Monsieur Maillard to describe and explain the phenomenon.
In fact Maillard reactions crop up everywhere in cooking, and affect much of what we eat and drink.
- When the crust on a baked loaf is crisp and brown - that's them!
- When beer is brown (or amber-coloured) - there they are again!
- When coffee is dark after roasting and reveals its flavour
- When chocolate develops its delicious aromas after “cooking" the cocoa butter
- When the roast in the oven is covered with a fine and very tasty crust
- When the skin on fried chicken turns crispy
- When a dish just gets better and lightly browned on reheating
- You use your toaster
etc., etc.
If they are present, it's an excellent thing. It means that it's good, it's tasty, it has that great “properly cooked” flavour that I've already mentioned, and this is particularly true of cooking meat.
The consequence of all this is that we should try to encourage these reactions as far as possible. A simple example: when frying meat in a pan, it is better not to use a non-stick pan, so that the meat can stick on the bottom a little and the famous crust has a chance to form more effectively and more quickly. Unfortunately this can also stick well.
You might think that there is nothing revolutionary in that, and that you already knew it: cooked meat has more flavour than raw meat! Of course that's true, but it took the good Monsieur Maillard to describe and explain the phenomenon.
In fact Maillard reactions crop up everywhere in cooking, and affect much of what we eat and drink.
- When the crust on a baked loaf is crisp and brown - that's them!
- When beer is brown (or amber-coloured) - there they are again!
- When coffee is dark after roasting and reveals its flavour
- When chocolate develops its delicious aromas after “cooking" the cocoa butter
- When the roast in the oven is covered with a fine and very tasty crust
- When the skin on fried chicken turns crispy
- When a dish just gets better and lightly browned on reheating
- You use your toaster
etc., etc.
If they are present, it's an excellent thing. It means that it's good, it's tasty, it has that great “properly cooked” flavour that I've already mentioned, and this is particularly true of cooking meat.
The consequence of all this is that we should try to encourage these reactions as far as possible. A simple example: when frying meat in a pan, it is better not to use a non-stick pan, so that the meat can stick on the bottom a little and the famous crust has a chance to form more effectively and more quickly. Unfortunately this can also stick well.
A final note on the subject – sheer genius – that I heard from the English chef Heston Blumenthal: if you cook meat in a non-stick pan, you can brown it beautifully in spite of this by turning the meat every 15 seconds throughout the cooking time. This needs to be done with tongs and not with a fork to avoid piercing the meat. It's a bit of a bind, but the result is remarkable!
PS : This also explains why those who enjoy steak tartare (which personally I find inedible, but each to his own…) are obliged to mix all manner of strong condiments with their raw meat: onion, herbs, sauces, egg yolk, etc., to give it some flavour. The same meat cooked would only need a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and voila!” … But at this point I'm just teasing my sister Isabelle, a real chip off the old block, who adores it just like her father!
Lasts posts
Divide and weigh dough into regular pieces
When you prepare dough for cupcakes in a pastry shop or bakery, at some point you're going to have to divide it, i.e. cut it into small pieces, which should all have the same weight. Sounds simple enough, but is it really that simple?5745 May 30th 2023
How to sprinkle well?
When in a recipe you need to sprinkle something, that is to say to spread a fine layer of powder (flour, sugar, etc.) on something, powdered sugar on a pie for example, you will probably use a fine strainer or a sieve, this is the best way to proceed. But is that all?7565 May 23th 2023
How to properly roll out a pie crust?
Very often in pastry making, you have to roll out a pastry before using it for a pie or another dessert. At home, of course, you get out your rolling pin and simply roll it out. Is there a way to get an evenly rolled out dough? That's what we will see in this article.1,1354.8 May 10th 2023
Don't throw away your pizza crusts
You've probably already noticed that at the end of a pizza meal, at least half of the participants have left the crusts in the boxes or on the plates that many don't eat. Naturally, one would tend to put them "to the birds", or worse, to throw them away, and it's a shame because they are in fact...1,8604.8 April 22th 2023
The long fermentation of bread
I had already told you in a previous article about the delicious little alchemy that happens when we make bread, let's try to go a little further this time, and try to discover what makes a good bread, in other words, which has taste. .2,0464.8 April 13th 2023
Other pages you may also like
What is the difference between bakery and patisserie?
This is a question that you may well have asked yourself and which I will attempt to answer. In France the two trades of "boulangerie" (bakery) and "pâtisserie" (patisserie and confectionery) have always been quite distinct, but where exactly do the boundaries lie? .110K 13.9 February 7th 2017
Fruits which can ruin your jelly
There are many ways of making a fruit mousse, but one of the simplest is to prepare a fruit jelly (basically a fresh fruit coulis with gelatine) and then mix this jelly before it sets completely with whipped cream. The result is perfect for filling a charlotte, for example. But do beware;...60K3.5 March 6th 2013
Candied fruits: don't get ripped off
Do you like candied fruit? You might like to nibble a handful or add it to a recipe, like a classic fruit cake or delicious Italian specialities like panettone or sicilian epiphany pie.46K 23.4 June 21th 2017
A few tips for effective kneading at home
When you have to knead dough for bread or some other recipe, you may well use a food processor or the type of machine known as a stand mixer. The best-known brands are Kenwood and KitchenAid. They are useful tools, but here are a few tips to help you get the best out of them.254K 23.5 June 23th 2021
Egg yolks and caster sugar
We often come across recipes where we need to mix egg yolks with caster sugar. This would appear to be a very ordinary and simple thing to do but, be warned, these two ingredients can behave oddly together.64K 24.1 February 15th 2018
Follow this page
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.