You've likely seen or heard the term before, maybe in a recipe or on a food show—achieving the "Maillard reaction" sounds sophisticated or even difficult, but what does it really mean?

Exposure to a common chemical found in breakfast foods could have adverse health effects. These health effects include an increase in the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

However, food scientists primarily attribute this phenomenon to ... During cooking, lipids in the meat undergo thermal degradation, and the Maillard reaction, a nonenzymatic browning reaction, breaks ...

Image caption, The browning on the top of these ribs is due to the Maillard reaction. Health experts have one word of caution. When barbecuing food over smoke (which doesn't happen in a ...