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Why a Seared Steak Beats a Boiled One

7th grade nonfiction passage about browning and flavor: 246 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

7th grade nonfiction browning and flavor 246 words

Why a Seared Steak Beats a Boiled One

Put a piece of meat in boiling water and it turns gray and bland. Put the same piece in a hot, dry pan and it develops a deep brown crust with a rich smell. The difference comes down to chemistry, and to temperature.

The browning is caused by the Maillard reaction, named for the French scientist who first described it. It happens when amino acids, the building blocks of protein, meet certain sugars in the presence of heat. The reaction creates hundreds of new flavor and aroma molecules, and also brown pigments. It is the reason toast, roasted coffee, bread crust, and fried potatoes all taste richer than their raw ingredients.

The reaction speeds up as the temperature rises, and it works best on surfaces that are dry. This explains the boiling puzzle. Water in a pot cannot get hotter than its boiling point, so the surface of boiled food never gets hot enough to brown well. In a hot pan, by contrast, the surface dries out quickly and the temperature climbs high enough for browning to begin.

Cooks use this knowledge. They pat meat dry before searing it, because moisture on the surface would have to boil away first. They avoid crowding the pan, since too much food gives off steam that cools the pan and keeps everything pale. Browning is not the same as caramelization, which involves only sugar heated by itself, although the two can happen together in a pan of cooking onions.

Questions

  1. What causes the brown crust on meat cooked in a hot, dry pan? in the text

  2. Which two kinds of ingredients meet in the Maillard reaction? in the text

  3. Why does boiled meat stay gray? in the text

  4. Why do cooks pat meat dry before searing it? in the text

  5. Why does a crowded pan produce pale food? think about it

  6. Why does toast taste richer than plain bread? think about it

Words to know

reaction
a chemical change that makes new substances
amino acids
the small building blocks that make up proteins
aroma
a pleasant smell
pigments
substances that give something its color
caramelization
the browning of sugar when it is heated
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One passage, three levels

The same topic and facts written three ways, so a mixed class can read and talk about one text. Each group’s sheet shows only a shape; the key says which is which.

● Easier · 201 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.5

Put meat in boiling water, and it turns gray and plain. Put the same meat in a hot, dry pan, and it gets a deep brown crust and a rich smell. The reason is chemistry and heat.

The browning comes from the Maillard reaction. It is named for the French scientist who first described it. It happens when amino acids meet some sugars in heat. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. The reaction makes hundreds of new flavors and smells. It also makes brown color. That is why toast, roasted coffee, bread crust, and fried potatoes taste richer than the raw foods.

The reaction goes faster as it gets hotter. It also works best when the food is dry on the outside. Water in a pot cannot get hotter than its boiling point. So boiled food never gets hot enough to brown. In a hot pan, the outside dries fast and gets hot enough.

Cooks use this. They pat meat dry first, because wet meat must dry before it can brown. They do not crowd the pan. Too much food makes steam, and steam cools the pan. Browning is not the same as caramelization. Caramelization is sugar heated alone.

▲ This passage · 246 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.5

Put a piece of meat in boiling water and it turns gray and bland. Put the same piece in a hot, dry pan and it develops a deep brown crust with a rich smell. The difference comes down to chemistry, and to temperature.

The browning is caused by the Maillard reaction, named for the French scientist who first described it. It happens when amino acids, the building blocks of protein, meet certain sugars in the presence of heat. The reaction creates hundreds of new flavor and aroma molecules, and also brown pigments. It is the reason toast, roasted coffee, bread crust, and fried potatoes all taste richer than their raw ingredients.

The reaction speeds up as the temperature rises, and it works best on surfaces that are dry. This explains the boiling puzzle. Water in a pot cannot get hotter than its boiling point, so the surface of boiled food never gets hot enough to brown well. In a hot pan, by contrast, the surface dries out quickly and the temperature climbs high enough for browning to begin.

Cooks use this knowledge. They pat meat dry before searing it, because moisture on the surface would have to boil away first. They avoid crowding the pan, since too much food gives off steam that cools the pan and keeps everything pale. Browning is not the same as caramelization, which involves only sugar heated by itself, although the two can happen together in a pan of cooking onions.

■ Harder · 254 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 10.8

Place a piece of meat in boiling water and it turns gray and bland; place the identical piece in a hot, dry pan and it develops a deep brown crust and a rich, appealing aroma. The explanation lies in chemistry, and in temperature.

The browning is produced by the Maillard reaction, which is named for the French scientist who first described it. It occurs when amino acids, the building blocks of protein, encounter certain sugars in the presence of heat. The reaction generates hundreds of new flavor and aroma molecules, along with brown pigments, and it is the reason toast, roasted coffee, bread crust, and fried potatoes all taste considerably richer than their raw ingredients.

The reaction accelerates as the temperature climbs, and it proceeds most effectively on dry surfaces. This resolves the puzzle of the boiled meat. Water in a pot cannot become hotter than its boiling point, so the surface of boiled food never reaches a temperature high enough for proper browning. In a hot pan, by contrast, the surface dries out quickly and the temperature rises far enough for browning to begin.

Cooks take advantage of this knowledge. They pat meat dry before searing it, because any moisture on the surface must boil away first, and they avoid crowding the pan, since too much food releases steam that cools the pan and leaves everything pale. Browning should not be confused with caramelization, which involves only sugar heated by itself, although the two can occur together in a pan of cooking onions.

Download as one PDF

How to use it

  1. Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
  2. Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
  3. Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.

Ideas for class

  • Before reading, put reaction, amino acids, aroma, pigments and caramelization on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the text will be about.
  • Read it aloud once while students follow along, then have them reread it alone or with a partner. At a calm 100 words a minute it takes about 2 minutes to read aloud.
  • Use the Read it big button (or B) to put the text on the projector, and Show answer on one question at a time so the class commits to an answer first.
  • Question 5 asks the reader to infer. Ask students to point to the words in the passage that led them to their answer.
  • Ask students to write one question the passage did not answer, then look for the answer in a book or on a classroom screen.
  • Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "Why a Seared Steak Beats a Boiled One"?

It was written for 7th grade. It has 246 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 7.5. That is a formula's estimate from sentence length and syllables, and it is not a Lexile or a guided reading level, so check it against your students.

What do the questions ask?

There are six. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 2 ask the reader to work something out from clues. Each has an answer in the key, and the answers are written as a teacher would accept them, not as the only possible wording.

How long does it take to read?

About 2 minutes read aloud at 100 words a minute. For a one-minute fluency check, paste it into the fluency timer and use the word count.

Can I print it?

Yes. Print student copy gives the passage, the questions with lines to write on, and the word meanings. Print with answers gives the same page with the answers filled in. Both are made in your browser.

Is this passage from a published book?

No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.

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