What is the Maillard Reaction?
- Anjali Carl
- Oct 6
- 3 min read
Every time you sear a steak, toast bread or roast coffee beans, you are witnessing one of the most important chemical reactions in cooking: the Maillard reaction. Named after the French chemist Louise Camille Maillard who first described the reaction in 1912, this chemical process is responsible for the complex flavors of our food and the golden brown color we are used to seeing.
The Maillard reaction is a chemical reaction between amino acids (building blocks of proteins) and reducing sugars (such as glucose, fructose and lactose) that occurs when food is heated. This is different from caramelization which only requires sugar to be present. For the Maillard reaction, both protein and sugar are needed.
The Maillard reaction is actually three stages of chemical reactions turning simple foods into complex flavors:
Initial stage
At about 285oF (140oC), heat causes amino acids to react with reducing sugars (glucose or fructose) to form N-glycocylamines or Schiff bases
Intermediate stage
Schiff bases are unstable so they quickly rearrange into Amadori products. This is where the flavor starts to develop.
Final stage
Amadori products undergo even more changes by breaking down and becoming hundreds of different molecules. Some of these compounds contribute to the aroma like the roasted smell of coffee beans. They can also become melanoidins which are the brown pigments that give cooked food its golden crust.
Each type of food has its own mixture of amino acids and sugars which leads to so many varieties that arise from Maillard reactions. It’s why seared beef tastes different from seared chicken and why different types of breads have different crusts and tastes. Factors like temperature, pH, and moisture can affect which compounds are more dominant, and this is why chefs pay such close attention to those details while cooking.
So, how can you make the Maillard reaction work for you?
Dry your meat before cooking as moisture slows the reaction down.
Use high heat. Higher heat accelerates the reaction which is why searing meat causes it to brown better than cooking at lower temperatures.
Higher pH can accelerate the process as well, so adding a pinch of baking soda to onions will help them brown faster.
Adding a little sugar or milk will give more sugars for the reaction to occur. In baking, this can help bread crust brown more.
The Maillard reaction is the science behind why so much of our food smells and tastes so good. Once you know how and why it works, you can use it to enhance your own cooking at home, whether it’s searing steak, making bread, or roasting vegetables.
And as your kitchen fills with the rich aroma from your cooking, you will know the science behind the magic.
Anjali Carl is a junior at Cedar Park High School in Cedar Park, Texas.They have been excited about food science since making ice cream in a third-grade science class, and now enjoys baking and recipe development. Through their Girl Scout Gold Award project, they created two cookbooks focused on reducing food waste for food pantries and college students. They plan to study food science and eventually become an ice cream chemist.
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