The Maillard (pronouced MY-yar) reaction is a series of chemical reactions that occur between proteins and sugars when foods are heated. It creates hundreds of new flavorful aromatic compounds while also producing the golden-brown color we associate with baked and roasted foods. Examples of food that have undergone this reaction include toasted bread, browned butter, roasted coffee, and seared steak.

In baking, you'll see me harness the power of this reaction quite a bit; it is one my favorite reactions to study because it imparts so much flavor in baking. Usually, with baked goods we have so little exposure to heat (cookies bake in 12 minutes, etc.) that the Maillard reaction is quite limited, so I often use ingredients that already have undergone this process: browned butter, pretzels, carmelized white chocolate, etc.