What is the delicious brown layer that appears when you fry or bake apples, plums, apricots, etc.?
When one fries or bakes various fruits, like apples, plums, and apricots, they acquire a (patched) brown to black layer where they have touched the pan or the hot air. It tastes deliciously tart and bitter. Is that only caramellisation, or is it more than that? Bonus question: is it the same process as what happens when you grill aubergines, and meat? A picture:
Best Answer
This is a combination of the two: caramelization and Mallard reaction.
Caramelization may sometimes cause browning in the same foods in which the Maillard reaction occurs, but the two processes are distinct. They both are promoted by heating, but the Maillard reaction involves amino acids, as discussed above, whereas caramelization is simply the pyrolysis of certain sugars.
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Southern Fried Apples Recipe ~ Just like grandma's!
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Answer 2
I do think it is the carmelization, but in the picture looks a bit like char/sear as well, maybe a combination of the two. In any event, looks really yummy!
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