Comments on: What is the Maillard reaction?

By: Dennis Gore

Dennis Gore — Thu, 13 Dec 2018 01:05:57 +0000

I thought “Maillard Reaction”was named after the dish”crispy duck” so called because cooked Mallard duck skin ,(protein +glucose), is an example of the damage that diabetics can get from too much sugar?

By: BBD

BBD — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 20:15:24 +0000

Greg

From a particular part of Georgia, IIRC.

That's my understanding (per the wiki you quote). Terroire over cépage :-)

By: ppnl

ppnl — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 19:55:07 +0000

I prefer to cook with ordinary onions. I eat vidalia onions raw. I have made onion only sandwiches with them.

Georgia soil may be good for onions but at least here it is so fine grained that it compacts very easily. That and the clay content really makes trouble for my garden. I have tried adding organic content but with limited success. Will try sand next year.

The best application of the Maillard process is fajitas.

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 01:19:12 +0000

From Wiki: Georgia’s state legislature passed the “Vidalia Onion Act of 1986” which authorized a trademark for “Vidalia Onions” and limits the production area to the following counties of Georgia that have or any subset as defined by the state’s Commissioner of Agriculture. The current definition includes:

The following thirteen counties: Emanuel, Candler, Treutlen, Bulloch, Wheeler, Montgomery, Evans, Tattnall, Toombs, Telfair, Jeff Davis, Appling, and Bacon.
Portions of the following seven counties: Jenkins, Screven, Laurens, Dodge, Pierce, Wayne, and Long.
Since Georgia statutes have no legally-binding effect outside Georgia, producers and handlers meeting the standards defined by Georgia law requested, and the United States Department of Agriculture promulgated, a Federal Marketing Order which defined the production area as a matter of United States federal law.[1]

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 01:18:09 +0000

From a particular part of Georgia, IIRC.

By: The Phytophactot

The Phytophactot — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 22:11:19 +0000

You can buy Vidalia onion seeds but don’t bother. The soil around Vidalia Georgia has very few sulfur minerals so the onions fail to produce the sulfides that make you eyes water. Since its the soil not genes that make these onions special you only get the real thing from GA.

By: BBD

BBD — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 20:45:06 +0000

Won’t stop me, though…

Nor me. Time for a spot of denial… 😉

By: Brainstorms

Brainstorms — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 20:17:27 +0000

Sadly, that yummy reaction that makes the stuff we love to smell and really love to taste also makes boogeyman organic molecules, advanced glycation endproducts, that attack nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids that can lead to diabetic complications, pulmonary fibrosis, and neurodegeneration. Yummy.

Or, “This is why we can’t have nice things,” culinarily speaking.

Won’t stop me, though…

By: Jazzlet

Jazzlet — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 18:33:41 +0000

I think the nearest we get in the UK are ‘Spanish’ onions. Shallot are wonderful.

By: BBD

BBD — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 17:47:33 +0000

Don’t think you can get Vidalias here in the UK, which is a shame. That said, if you want a superior flavour, try shallots, not onions. At least chemistry is universal 🙂 The Maillard reaction tastes just as good wherever you are, although sadly remains just as difficult to understand wherever you are.