Browning
Two reactions cooks constantly mix up — and the temperatures where each one actually peaks.
The crust on a seared steak isn't one reaction. It's two — Maillard and caramelization — and they peak at different temperatures, on different ingredients, with different flavours. Most cooking advice runs them together. This is the ladder.
A field guide to
Browning
Two reactions cooks constantly mix up — and the temperatures where each one actually peaks.
- 200 °C
Pyrolysis
Acrid · charred · bitter
- 175 °C
Caramelization country
Sugars are doing the work now
- 165 °C
Past the peak
Maillard tipping into early caramelization
- 140 – 165 °C
Maillard peak
Where browning runs strongest and fastest
- 120 °C
Slow Maillard
Gentle, steady browning
- 100 °C
Steam zone
Surface stays wet — no crust
Maillard
Amino acids and reducing sugars rearrange, with help from nitrogen and sulfur. Hundreds of new flavour compounds — savoury, nutty, roasted. The crust on a seared steak.
Caramelization
Sugar molecules pulled apart by raw heat. No protein needed. Sweeter, simpler, less complex than Maillard. Crème brûlée. Caramel sauce. The dark edge of a roasted onion.
What this means for the pan
Two practical things.
The Maillard peak sits at 140–165 °C — comfortably below the smoke point of any decent high-heat fat. Tallow (215 °C), refined oils (200 °C+), algae oil (251 °C). Plenty of headroom. If your steak is grey, the pan is too cold, not the oil too hot.
Extra virgin olive oil starts smoking at 190–207 °C. Cooking with it on high heat doesn't just ruin the oil — it pushes you straight from Maillard into pyrolysis, skipping the part you wanted. Save it for the plate.
Adapted from Flavorama by Arielle Johnson.