Talk:Searing

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Hi, on the food network this person keeps talking about getting a steak to brown by caramelizing sugars in the steak. As I understand it, there are no sugars in a steak. Or is that untrue?

Good question; I don't have a full answer, but I found one reference [1] that states that the "Intrinsic reducing sugar content in ground beef was estimated to be 0.07%." So, there's probably enough sugar in a steak to participate in a browning reaction, but not enough to count from a dietary standpoint. —Bunchofgrapes (talk) 20:10, 21 February 2006 (UTC)

Starches pretty much act in the same way as sugars, so that's why steaks caramelize. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Altonbrownisawesome (talk • contribs) 19:52, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Fixed numerous typos, interpuction and formatting errors. Changed no info212.120.86.173 15:45, 28 August 2007 (UTC)

"In short, the meat created by searing is in no way waterproof. Moisture in liquid and vapor form can and does continue to escape from a seared piece of meat. For this reason, searing is sometimes done at the end of the freezing process to gain the flavor benefits of the caramelization as well as the benefits of cooking for a greater duration with more moisture."

I tried to read this otherwise several times, but rather than "freezing process," shouldn't that read "cooking process"? timbo (talk) 01:54, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

Quick observations on sealing in the juices

• The article talks too much about it, defocusing the subject: not enough on how and why one does, too much on why one might be mistaken in doing so.

• I have more to say about it [sigh], specifically that the experiments as described do not make a distinction between original juices (including those touched by marinade, spiced mince, rémoulade, etc., in which searing followed by the slower cooking of sauté or stewing might induce unique flavours which might remain sealed in), and moisture of whatever kind which ended up in the sautéed-but-unseared item. Likelier the issue was- and is- qualitative, not quantitative.

-SM 16:31, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Yep, this article is crazily skewed, there is no attempt at even-handedness. Everyone with any experience of cooking or just eating meat already knows - from their own direct experience - that searing results in a juicier end-product. If the "scientific" approach uncritically subscribed to by this article shows otherwise, then clearly the experimental procedure has missed some variables.

Additionally, claiming the idea (that searing meat produces a juicier result) dates back only to von Liebig is ludicrous - people have been searing meat for at least a couple of thousand years. All in all, this article is a shining example of twaddle written by someone who fancies they know about science, but unfortunately knows little-to-nothing of the subject *actually under discussion* - in this case cookery.

-GK 10:15, 16 January 2011 (UTC)

this article would appear to contradict this wikipedia article on searing, including the notion that Von Leibig adverted searing meat: http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/cookingmethods/a/sealinjuices1.htm — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.69.51.51 (talk) 11:21, 11 June 2012 (UTC)

The "Danilo Alfaro article" is pretentious anti-science nonsense - instead of actually doing the experiment to determine juice content searing before or after, you're supposed to believe in your "feelings" about which is juicier, then rambles on about rationalizations for weight loss. 24.148.80.51 (talk) 15:22, 20 April 2013 (UTC)

As an additional side note, searing is commonly translated into Portuguese, for instance, as "selar" lit. sealing. Not sure if this is for lack of a better word, but it is very distinct from the Spanish "marcar" lit. marking.