FOOD FOR THOUGHT - August 25, 2004 Mark R. Vogel -
Epicure1@optonline.net - Archive of other articles by Mark Vogel
Louis Camille Maillard (1878-1936) was a French physician and
chemist. In 1912 he was researching how amino acids combined to
form proteins. Serendipitously, he uncovered the basic chemistry
behind something man had been doing since the discovery of fire:
searing meat with intense heat. (For the purposes of our
discussion, meat refers to any animal protein). In the culinary
world, this is now known as the Maillard reaction. The Maillard
reaction is a type of browning reaction, so named for the dark
brown color imparted to the food. Browning reactions are
extremely complex chemical transformations that result from
exposing food to high heat. It does NOT seal in the juices, as
the common culinary myth holds. What browning meat does is
create intense flavor. To produce a browning reaction, the heat
must be above 300 degrees. Since water cannot be heated above
212, boiled, poached and simmered foods