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[-] rbos@lemmy.ca -3 points 1 month ago

Alkalinity speeds up the Maillard reaction significantly. Baking soda. Magic.

[-] Dabundis@lemmy.world 11 points 1 month ago

I agree, but the comment above recommends using it to caramelize onions. Maillard reactions can happen to onions for sure but the result of that is not caramelized onions.

Not to say baking soda couldn't help, I don't know the exact chemistry behind this stuff, but I do know that onion + maillard reaction does not yield caramelized onions

[-] deo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 month ago

Huh, I guess I'd never really looked into the chemistry behind the distinction (which is strange because i am a chemist that loves food), but Maillard reactions involve the proteins, while caramelization involves the sugars. Though both are examples of nonenzymatic browning.

The good news is that the wiki page for caramelization says that either acidic or basic conditions speed up the caramelization processes, so i think we're good to go in either front!

[-] rbos@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Yeah, that's interesting. It's right in the name, too. You are caramelizing the sugars, not the proteins.

So the baking soda does speed up what little maillard is going on, so it browns faster, but it doesn't caramelize faster.

TIL!

I usually do overnight large batch caramelizing so it hasn't mattered. Big bag of onion cubes in the freezer so I never do it in a pan.

[-] Dabundis@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

On that note, try adding a little splash of balsamic vinegar to caramelized onions ๐Ÿ‘Œ๐Ÿ‘Œ

this post was submitted on 21 Oct 2024
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