scott123 said:
Browning reactions are associated with higher temperatures as that range is where they occur the quickest/most readily. Given the right conditions/time, they occuring at much lower temperatures, even room temp.
As stock simmers, it takes on color. It's an extremely slow process. During the final reduction stage, as the proteins/sugars become more concentrated, the process accelerates. It never reaches the speed at which color occurs in a roasting environment, but it does produce a darker stock.
Take a pot of strained stock and split it into two pots. Reduce one pot by 3/4, add water back to it's original volume, then visually compare the two pots. The reduced stock will be noticeably darker.
I agree with everything except have a ?? about the bolded sentence. The stock will become darker in
color, even at lower teperatures (esp. if pH is lower -- hence the discussion of vinegar). BUT after the proteins and sugars combine, the last phase of the Maillard reaction, the creation of melanoidins which create the roasted
taste needs more heat than simmering temp, doesn't it?
Even beer needs to be brought to 250 or so for it to happen, as I understand it.
The Maillard reaction may be responsible for the darker color, but is not concentration and not the MR responsible for the taste? I still think you cannot create the exact same flavors of browned meat through simmering.
Just call me Shirley