WEBVTT - How Does the Maillard Reaction Make Food Tastier?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff production of I Heart Radio, Hey brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Bolga bam here. While it may sound like a

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<v Speaker 1>far off concept baked up in a sterile science lab,

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<v Speaker 1>you've almost certainly eaten food that has gone through the

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<v Speaker 1>Mayor reaction. In fact, you probably eat foods several times

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<v Speaker 1>a week or day that have gone through this peculiar process,

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes dubbed the flavor reaction. The Mayor reaction is a

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<v Speaker 1>pillar of food science and the answer to the question

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<v Speaker 1>what makes cooked food taste good? So one in the

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<v Speaker 1>world is it discovered more than a hundred years ago

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<v Speaker 1>by French chemist Louis Kami Mayar. The Maya reaction is

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<v Speaker 1>a series of consecutive complex reactions between amino acids and

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<v Speaker 1>sugars when food is cooked. In Layman's terms, it's the

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<v Speaker 1>chemical reaction that occurs when you brown your food at

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<v Speaker 1>a temperature between two hundred and eighty five and three

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<v Speaker 1>fifty five degrees ahrenheit that's one forty and one seventy

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<v Speaker 1>nine celsius, creating deeper colors and tastier flavors. During this process,

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<v Speaker 1>flavor compounds in the food breakdown to create lots of

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<v Speaker 1>new flavor compounds. Those compounds then break down, and so

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<v Speaker 1>on and so on, so that delicious savory flavor that

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<v Speaker 1>you get with each crunch of your seared steak is

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<v Speaker 1>in part a direct result of the mayor reaction. Here's

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<v Speaker 1>a step by step guide what happens at a microscopic level.

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<v Speaker 1>When heat is applied to foods containing sugars and particular

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<v Speaker 1>amino acids. Those molecules react and form a compound called

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<v Speaker 1>the Hinds or Amadori compound. These then further react to

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<v Speaker 1>form aromatic compounds. In the final step, large complex molecules

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<v Speaker 1>called melanoidons are formed. These eventually produced the food's brown color.

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<v Speaker 1>So how is the mayor reaction different from caramelization? We

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<v Speaker 1>spoke with Chef Alex Loovic of the Napa Valley Inglenok Winery.

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<v Speaker 1>He said, simply put, caramelization is the browning of sugars,

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<v Speaker 1>while the mayor reaction is a bit more complex and

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<v Speaker 1>involves the interaction between amino acids and sugars. The mayor

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<v Speaker 1>reaction begins to occur at a lower temperature than caramelization

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<v Speaker 1>and produces many complex flavor compounds. It's one reason why

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<v Speaker 1>food that has undergone This reaction is often desirable and

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<v Speaker 1>can be considerably more exciting and interesting to eat. Both

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<v Speaker 1>caramelization and the mayor reaction are responsible for some of

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<v Speaker 1>the colors and flavors in foods that we know and love.

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<v Speaker 1>A caramelization results in the sugar crust on top of kremboulet,

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<v Speaker 1>the sweetness of onions that you cook down on the

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<v Speaker 1>stove top, and pineapple that you cook on a grill

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<v Speaker 1>or in the bottom of a pan for a pineapple

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<v Speaker 1>upside down cake. Caramelization leads to more toasty flavors. Think

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<v Speaker 1>of the hints of toffee, butter, jam stone, fruits, and

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<v Speaker 1>cotton candy that you might encounter in the or mentioned foods. Meanwhile,

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<v Speaker 1>the mayor reaction creates more roasty flavors. Think of the

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<v Speaker 1>hints of toast, citrus, currants, chocolate, and coffee that you

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<v Speaker 1>might get in the crust of a seasoned steak or fish,

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<v Speaker 1>or a roast chicken or brisket, or in a dark

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<v Speaker 1>beer like a stouter porter, or in chocolate or coffee themselves.

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<v Speaker 1>It can be difficult to separate the results of the

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<v Speaker 1>two processes, sometimes as many foods involved both, like toasted bread,

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<v Speaker 1>caramels that are made with dairy and amber colored beers. Interestingly,

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<v Speaker 1>while mayor reactions occur fast in cooking, they can also

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<v Speaker 1>develop slowly over time when food is stored at low temperatures.

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<v Speaker 1>For instance, cheeses that ripen over time develop intense flavors

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<v Speaker 1>in part because of the mayor reaction. Today's episode was

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<v Speaker 1>written by Jeremy Glass and produced by Tyler Clay. For

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<v Speaker 1>more on this and lots of other complex topics at

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<v Speaker 1>how stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff is production of

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<v Speaker 1>I Heart Radio. For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit

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