There’s a Maillard in my food!- the chemistry of cooking itself

Cook till golden brown? got it

But have you ever had roasted meat, vegetables or just a pleasant coffee and thought-

Well, this tasted better uncooked? I don’t think so! Why?

The Maillard reaction- a multistep, complex, non-

enzymatic reaction

How do we know it? Browning on tablets

But is that all there is to it? NO

Maillard reaction is one of the most if not THE MOST important reaction in the food industry. It’s in everyday life- the toast you make, the vegetables you cook, the barbeque, coffee and even your loved chocolate.

The chemistry-

Before we know how and where it’s applied let’s understand its steps for tis the blog us chemists nerd out to

Maillard reaction needs two starting products and two reaction conditions- Proteins and reducing sugars with a high temperature and low moisture content – seems simple right?

EHHHH (buzzer sound)

Maillard is highly diverse, even with the conditions for temperature and moisture; there are many variations which can be done to achieve different flavors.

The reaction itself is made of three integral steps-

1. Condensation

The reducing sugars and amino acids condense to form an imine, Schiff’s base or a

glycosylamine if the ring stays closed.

2. Amadori rearrangement

As we know Schiff’s bases are extremely unstable and quickly undergo rearrangement to

form an Amadori product. These are relatively stable but due to high temperatures it starts

degrading into by products.

3. Degradation of Amadori products

This is where we get to see the diversity of the Maillard reaction! The products formed by the

Amadori rearrangement entirely depend on what combination of amino acid and sugar is

reacting. Some compounds are volatile and might give rise to a specific aroma, some give

characteristic taste, while others lead to the browning of the food products - melanoidins.

Melanoidins are the characteristic pigments present in brown foods created by this reaction,

like roasted coffee or bread.

Is it really used everywhere?

Bread and pastries

Breads and pastries are the most common examples of Maillard reaction -this is why butter, creams or eggs are brushed over while baking dishes so that the proteins and sugars interact- the surface browns and develops the crust and a perfect crisp.

Cooking and grilling

Millard reaction is the main thing that makes us love barbeque so much. Even your vegetables change taste when you cook them. The entire point of cooking red meat is to perfect the Maillard reaction.

With experience you can even alter and control the Maillard reaction according to your specifications.

Sometimes chefs add a little bit moisture to catalyze the reaction and cause rapid browning especially while cooking pretzels or sausages.

Roasting

Roasting is another important area where Maillard reactions are used. Nuts, coffee, cocoa beans you name it! Did you know a slight change in the temperature or pH while coffee roasting can completely change the taste of coffee? Same goes for the cocoa beans for the chocolate. Maillard reaction gets less experimental in these fields as both the components- amino acids and the sugars are within the bean or the nut but still seasoned roasters always have their own version of a roasting formula which yields exquisite results despite deviating from the standards.

Broths

This is the exception to the stringent conditions of high temperature and low moisture of the reaction.

Here, the reaction isn’t catalyzed by high temperatures but rather progresses over a long period of time, yielding completely different flavors and results as that of a barbeque.

For broths since the moisture content is high the broth needs to be cooked over low, continuous heat of around 50-65 Degree Celsius for around 8-10 hours for optimum results. Broths have a specific aroma and umami due to the Maillard reaction yet again!

Even though Maillard reaction is great in its many ways if we don’t control it – it simply ends up as a burnt product so keep an eye on that toast!

Written by Shweta Barve,

Edited and Proofread by Rajvee Kulkarni,

T.Y.B. Pharm