Control of the Maillard Reaction during the Cooking of Food

It was almost 100 years ago when Louis-Camille Maillard discovered the reaction between amino acids and sugars that was subsequently named after him. However, it was another 40 years before its contribution to food flavor was appreciated. Since then many hundreds of compounds derived from the Maillard reaction have been identified in cooked foods. Studies of model Maillard systems have provided understanding of the pathways involved in formation of these compounds. However, model systems never deliver all the sensory characteristics of cooked foods and model systems are much more susceptible to small variation in reaction conditions. In a food the complex mixture of sugar and amino acid precursors, and the presence of structural components and other reactive compounds, provide control of the Maillard reaction so that consistent and characteristic flavor is delivered in that food. This paper reviews some of the interactions that occur in real foods during cooking and thereby provide natural control of Maillard flavor in food.