Caramelising Onions

there was a discussing here some time back about how best to caramelise onions and today someone twitted this in-depth detail of what happens when you caramelise onions which makes a good read:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/01/the-food-lab-real-french-onion-dip-homemade-super-bowl-recipe.html

looks like a in depth little post there, thanks

Steve

interesting, but some misinformation there, too.

The Maillard reaction is between sugars and proteins, to be exact, between amino acids and reducing sugars (and diketones), such as glucose and fructose, but not sucrose. There are no enzymes involved in the Maillard reaction; there is enzyme browning and occurs in bruised/cut fruit, for example, but this is not the Maillard reaction.

This is an example of what I was concerned about, the propagation of misinformation, it helps no-one, in fact it only hinders. One has to be very certain of ones facts before (re) broadcasting it.

If you want to get a really deep chicken flavour (naturally), sprinkle the skin with fructose, about the same amount as the amount of salt you would use. This produces flavour compounds from fructose and a couple amino acids present in the skin, and is excellent to add to the chicken carcass and frying/roasting before making stock. The flavour is also synthesized, and goes into those awful msg rich crisp, like 'roast chicken' flavour. Whatever happened to potato flavoured crisps?

Lapis if I understand what you are saying about fructose (fruit sugar) and chicken skin, does that mean if I were to wipe an apple/lemon or pour juice of either over a chicken before roasting it, would give it a more chicken'y flavour in the skin ?

Steve

you would have to ensure the juice contained free fructose, and that it stayed in place, but it would help, but long roasting may well caramelize the sugars as well, its not just fructose in those fruits, its compound carbs which break down with heat, vit C would also react, being a diketone. Just try fructose, its well worth it.

If you ever make biscuits, adding a reducing sugar, like fructose or glucose, as well as adding sucrose, will deepen the colour of the biscuit due to the Maillard reaction.

"The Maillard reaction is between sugars and proteins, to be exact, between amino acids and reducing sugars (and diketones), such as glucose and fructose, but not sucrose. There are no enzymes involved in the Maillard reaction; there is enzyme browning and occurs in bruised/cut fruit, for example, but this is not the Maillard reaction.

This is an example of what I was concerned about, the propagation of misinformation, it helps no-one, in fact it only hinders. One has to be very certain of ones facts before (re) broadcasting it. "

But Lapis that's why we have you...to inform us better! (smiley face)

flattery will get you everything! ;?)

I feel like cr*** at the moment with head full of cold so no point asking anything complicated at the moment but once it clears you're going to have to explain it to me and break it down in easy digestible form!