Why do we brown meat?

We brown meat as part of the cooking process to get all the sugars in the meat well and truly up and running before roasting, poaching, cooking in sauces etc.  According to the Larousse Gastronomique, bought for me by the Rock Chick, the Maillard Reaction is 'A chemical reaction, occurring when amino acids and sugars are heated.  It was discovered by the French scientist Louis-Camille Maillard (1878-1936) in 1912 and plays an important part in many cooking processes, affecting both taste and colour.  Maillard used his theory to explain, among other things, the formation of the crust on bread and roasts and the aroma of roasted coffee'.


So now you know!


All I know is that it tastes better when you do and it proves that men have only been burning meat for 100 years!!