We have always wondered how browning in meat and vegetables is evenly and deliciously made.
Look no further as we venture into the ways of perfectly browned food.
It starts with water.
The primary compounds to browning food while heating is sugar and amino acids.
These two are the key ingredients that cause the brown patches on your meat and vegetables. However, we get the uneven browning effect due to high heat.
This is where water comes in.
Although it’s counterintuitive, water helps in getting the perfect browned food we all wanted.
One great example is cooking bacon.
Initially, we boil water with the bacon until steam builds up.
Eventually, the water runs dry and all that’s left is the oil coming from the bacon, which then cooks the meat further.
Water is key to better browning in food.
There are two types of browning- caramelization and Maillard.
Caramelization is when sugars are heated past 300 degrees Celsius. This can be any type of sugar, like fructose and glucose.
They will start to break down and recombine, forming new compounds which then create a beautiful brown texture and color.
Aside from that, you will also get that rich aroma.
Sugar is also important in Maillard browning. You will need to heat up both sugar and amino acids above 300℉.
Here are some great recipes using the Maillard browning process.
First is the caramelized onion. Traditionally, they take a lot of time and patience. Not this way, though.
First place oil into a skillet and pump the heat. Add the onion.
About 15 or 20 minutes into cooking, you can get that browning as water from the onion seeps out, lowering the overall heat.
Once you see some browning, stir diligently to avoid uneven surface browning of the onions.
In Maillard browning, water is used to speed up the process of wilting the onion, which is where all the time is spent during traditional caramelization.
With high heat, water will boil, but it won’t make the onion brown just yet. Instead, this helps them wilt faster.
It cuts the traditional process in half.
When all of the water evaporates, what’s left is a rich juice packed with sugars and amino acids.
You will then turn the heat to medium-high and start stirring frequently to get even browning.
Another recipe is the sauteed mushrooms. The problem with mushrooms when cooking is that it absorbs a lot of oil, eventually taking also more time in cooking.
With water and high heat, it helps in getting the juices out of the mushrooms. Once all the water evaporates, you can then add the other ingredients and stir.
You should get evenly browned, rich-flavored mushrooms.
Lastly, there’s chicken gravy.
The main ingredient in gravy is broth, which can be extracted from chicken scraps- skin, fat, bones, and all!
If you use water to heat the meat first, juices will come out but will not brown or scorch right away. Instead, you’ll have richer stock and broth come out evenly.
Get more details on all the best browning practices from Chef Lan Lam in the video below!
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