SEAR-ious Flavor

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 will never brown. Steam can go above 212 degrees if under pressure.

So unless you have a means of positioning your porterhouse in a turbine engine, dry heat methods are the way to go. This means roasting, broiling, grilling, sautéing and frying.

(Even though oil is in "liquid" form, frying is still a dry heat method. More on that in a future frying article). The balancing act with dry heat methods is to cook the center of your food to the proper doneness before the outside burns.

The larger the item, the more likely the exterior will burn before the heat has penetrated the center sufficiently. We want to sear the surface of our food, not incinerate it. (I'm using the term "sear" loosely.

Technically, searing is browning food in fat and thus, by the book, would only apply to sautéing and frying). Here's how to brown your food via each of the dry heat cooking methods.

ROASTING: The method of choice for large items such as a whole chicken or turkey, or a beef roast. The heat in an oven is provided by convection, i.e., circulating air currents.

Convection, not being direct heat, is less harsh. Ergo, foods can roast for extended periods of time and be cooked to perfection inside and out, assuming the correct temperature is maintained.

Generally, the larger the item, the lower the roasting temperature. Given the correct temperature, all you need to do is place the food in the oven and let nature take its course.

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