On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1466

Bitter(complex Onions,meatiness(sulfur
molecules)
compounds)
Fruity
Greenvegetables(pyridines,
(esters)
pyrazines)
Sherry-like
Chocolate
(acetaldehyde)
(pyrazines)
Butterscotch
Potato,earthy
(diacetyl)
(pyrazines)
Caramel(maltol)
Nutty(furans) Pluscaramelizationflavors
DrawbacksoftheBrowningReactions

Browningreactionsdohavesomedrawbacks.
First,manydehydratedfruitsareproneto
gradualbrowningoverweeksormonthsat
roomtemperature,becausethecarbohydrates
andamine-containingmoleculesare
especiallyconcentrated(browningcausedby
enzymescanalsobeafactor).Smallamounts
ofsulfurdioxidearecommonlyaddedtothese


foodstoblocktheseunwantedchangesin
colorandtaste.Second,thenutritionalvalue

ofthefoodsisslightlyreducedbecauseamino
acidsarealteredordestroyed.
Finally,there’sevidencethatsome
productsofthebrowningreactionscan
damageDNAandmaycausecancer.In2002,
Swedishresearchersfoundworrisomelevels
ofacrylamide,aknowncarcinogeninrats,in
potatochips,frenchfries,andotherstarchy
friedfoods,apparentlytheproductof
reactionsbetweensugarsandtheaminoacid
asparagine.Thehealthsignificanceofthisand
similarfindingsremainsunclear.Theubiquity
ofbrownedfoods,bothtodayandthrough
thousandsofyearsofhistory,wouldsuggest
thattheydonotconstituteamajorthreatto
publichealth.Andotherbrowning-reaction
productshavebeenfoundtoprotectagainst
DNAdamage!Butit’sprobablyprudentto
makecharredmeatsandfriedsnacks
occasionalpleasures,noteverydayones.