The Maillard reaction has about 20 to 30 steps that happen very quickly, Provost says. As Chemical and Engineering News, a publication of the American Chemical Society, explains, the reaction can cause the creation of acrylamide, a potential carcinogen, in highly processed foods cooked at higher temperatures.

Adding citric, ascorbic or other acids, such as vinegar, lowers the pH and prevent enzymatic browning. The water reduces contact with oxygen and prevents enzymatic browning. • Cooking fruits or vegetables inactivates (destroys) the PPO enzyme, and enzymatic browning will no longer occur.

The course of Maillard reaction is strongly affected by factors which influence the different chemical reactions involved. These include temperature, time, water activity, reactant source, and concentration (5), the type and ratio of reducing sugar (6,7), amino acids (7,8), pH (9), and food composition (10,11).

The Maillard Reaction. The reason the Maillard Reaction is so important to making food tasty is because it signals two things that make human mouths water: the food is likely harmless (because it’s been cooked) and nutritious (because it contains proteins and sugars that we need). So far, so simple.

While they still don’t entirely understand it, they do know the basics: The Maillard reaction is many small, simultaneous chemical reactions that occur when proteins and sugars in and on your food are transformed by heat, producing new flavors, aromas, and colors.

When foods are being processed or cooked at high temperature, chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars leads to the formation of Maillard reaction products (MRPs). Depending on the way the food is being processed, both beneficial and toxic MRPs can be produced.

The main chemical ingredients in coffee beans are given below:

• Caffeine.
• Tannin.
• Thiamin.
• Xanthine.
• Spermidine.
• Guaiacol.
• Citric acid.
• Chlorogenic acid.