Maillard reaction
梅拉德反应
The browning that happens when amino acids and reducing sugars react above roughly 140 °C. It is not caramelisation (which involves sugars alone) and it is not burning. On cast iron it is the reaction that produces the crust a sear is judged by.
In the kitchen
A 12 in skillet at 425 °F browns the surface of a 180 g fish fillet in about 210 seconds. Below about 300 °F the same fillet only dries out: the water on the surface keeps the temperature at 100 °C until it is gone.
Common misreading
A dark crust is not automatically a Maillard crust. Sugar-based glazes, honey rubs and soy poured into a hot pan darken by caramelisation and burning, which taste bitter rather than savoury. If it went dark before the surface was dry, it burned.
Runs that use it
- IFX-017Cast-iron pan pizza: three minutes on the hob before the oven
- IFX-016Blistered green beans: dry 8 in skillet for 90 seconds before the oil
- IFX-01540 mm pork chop: oven finish versus all-hob cooking in a 12 in skillet
- IFX-014Seared scallops: a 20 minute dry brine against a wet surface
- IFX-012Fried rice in a 12 in skillet: 500 °F surface against a crowded pan
- IFX-011Braised short ribs: searing all four faces in a 12 in braiser
- IFX-009Crisp-skin snapper: what a 3.5 minute skin-side sear costs in stick index
- IFX-006Ridged grill pan: ridge temperature versus valley temperature on a 28 mm sirloin
- IFX-005No-knead bread in a preheated Dutch oven: lid off at 25 vs 30 minutes
- IFX-003Reverse-seared 2 in ribeye finished in a dry 12 in skillet
- IFX-002Smash burger: pressing at 5, 15 or 30 seconds in a 10 in skillet
- IFX-001Preheat window of a 12 in skillet: 5, 8 or 11 minutes