There is so much we can talk about when it comes to bacon. The summary is, it is one of America's favorite breakfast item, whose history stems from China, while the process was improved upon by the Romans.
However, let's about the beautiful caramelized blackish-brown color on our bacon. There are two kinds of browning chefs encounter during cooking: enzymatic and non-enzymatic browning.
With enzymatic browning, enzymes in food react with oxygen or another element to cause the food to brown naturally. Think of an avocado when cut open and left to sit for a couple of hours.
There is another type of browning which is non-enzymatic browning. One type of non-enzymatic browning is the Maillard reaction where amino acids from proteins react with certain sugars in the presence of heat, causing the food to brown. This is the underlying food science when baking bread, or getting crispy brown bacon, like we did with ours.
Also, the darker color of maple syrup help to accentuate the browning of the bacon from the Maillard reaction, giving it more of a blackish hue, versus a brownish hue. Cheers as you Discover FlavorFULL Goodness.
INGREDIENTS:
- Thick Cut Bacon
- Brown Sugar
- Date or Maple Syrup
- POKS Red Chili West African Seasoning
RECIPE:
- Lay the bacon on a rack so the grease can drip during the baking process.
- Mix the syrup, brown sugar and POKS Red Chili Seasoning
- Spread the spicy syrup mix on the bacon evenly.
- Bake at 400°F until the edges of the bacon are crispy and the sugar is melted and bubbly.
- Flip during baking and spread the spicy syrup mix on the other side and for even cooking.