Mailliard Reactions

As the lone biochemistry major in the food class, I figured I'd try to focus my blog posts on a little bit of the food chemistry. I always like to think about what exactly is going on with my food, from the molecular transitions that a carrot undergoes when exposed to high heat, to the changes in yeast activity in bread dough as it ferments at different temperatures, to what exactly is going on when I make ice cream. I like making something taste good, but I love when I know exactly why it happened that way. Luckily, I found a kitchen companion that always seems to offer a viable explanation. When in doubt, I turn to Harold McGee's "On Food and Cooking," a reference book that has become the staple to answer most basic questions on food science.

As weather starts to get chilly in Hamilton, New York, I become more desperate than ever to eke the last few uses out of the grill. I think that almost anything is better when prepared on a charcoal grill, but perhaps my favorite vegetable to grill is sweet corn. The other option to grilling corn is usually cooking it in boiling water, which, don't get me wrong, is great, especially when the corn is good; however, I believe corn reaches another level when prepared on the grill. This new found flavor complexity is due to a series of important reactions known as the Maillard reactions.

When you boil corn, the hottest temperature it can reach is 212 degrees Fahrenheit. On the other hand, when corn is cooked on a grill or even in an oven, the surface of the corn is able to reach temperatures as high as 500 degrees. This higher temperatures allows for a series of reactions known as Maillard reactions to occur. In this series of reactions a carbohydrate molecule an amino acid react to form an unstable intermediate which degrades into hundreds of different by products, leading to a much more complex and full flavor. These flavors are associated with meat and caramelzation and in my opinion put grilled corn miles ahead of its boiled counterpart.