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!
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!
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.
On that note, try adding a little splash of balsamic vinegar to caramelized onions 👌👌