Why does roasting add a flavour to the peanuts?
I roast the peanuts on a tawa and gas stove, after taking them out of their shells.
Have noticed that after roasting, peanuts taste great as compared to when they are raw.
Why is that so?
Best Answer
That great taste comes from the compounds produced by the Maillard reaction. It not one reaction but many that occur when the building blocks of proteins and sugars react as food is heated. Many new compounds are produced giving the cooked food a richer range of flavors. The pyrazines produced by the Maillard reaction give roasted peanuts their characteristic aroma, in particular cyclohexapyrazine.
To produce pyrazines, you need to heat your peanuts above 70C, with 110C to 170C (230F - 340F) suggested by most cookbooks. For unshelled peanuts at 110C it can take up to ten minutes for the amount of pyrazines produced to reach its peak. If the peanuts are not dry, you may need to add up to 20 minutes of oven time (longer on a tawa) at a lower temperature to dry them. Color will be your guide. The flavor of the pyrazines will be masked by oxidizing oils in the peanuts, so keeping them in an airtight container helps preserve that nutty-cracker-peanut flavor.
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Quick Answer about "Why does roasting add a flavour to the peanuts?"
Many new compounds are produced giving the cooked food a richer range of flavors. The pyrazines produced by the Maillard reactionWhat does roasting a peanut do?
Roasting nuts changes their structure and chemical composition. Specifically, it changes their color and decreases their moisture content, giving rise to their crunchy texture (5, 7). Raw and dry-roasted nuts have very similar amounts of fat, carbs and protein.What gives peanuts their flavor?
The flavor of roasted peanuts is associated with two important reactions, Maillard reaction and lipid oxidation. A Maillard reaction generates pleasant flavor attributes and mainly occurs during roasting. These pleasant flavors gradually diminish with the development of off-flavors during storage.Why are peanuts dry-roasted?
Dry roasting can be done in a frying pan or wok (a common way to prepare spices in some cuisines), or in a specialized roaster (as is used for coffee beans or peanuts). Dry roasting changes the chemistry of proteins in the food, changing their flavor, and enhances the scent and taste of some spices.What is the taste of roasted peanuts?
A peanuts flavor will change depending on the way it is processed. For example, if you have ever eaten roasted or fried peanuts you would have noticed they take on a sweet flavor, with hints of chocolate and meat, plus a vegetal undertone.More answers regarding why does roasting add a flavour to the peanuts?
Answer 2
As in a lot of ingredients, when you roast them a chemical reaction will happen, the Maillard Reaction (*) that will create different chemical compounds that will have different flavours.
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