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Nobel week—a fine time to celebrate science’s most notable achievements. As you raise your glass to this year’s laureates, why not toast one of chemistry’s most delectable¹ discoveries. Because it’s the 100th anniversary of the Maillard reaction, without which toast would be just a boring piece of dry bread.

As noted² in the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News, in 1912 Louis-Camille Maillard first described what happens when you cook sugars along with protein. Driven by the heat, these molecules³ react to produce a variety of savory⁴ smells and tastes, the good stuff in everything from grilled⁵ steak and French fries to dark roast coffee, maple⁶ syrup⁷, and crusty bread.

The reaction takes place pretty much any time you cook, which makes it the most favored and flavored chemistry around.

Of course, the Maillard reaction is not all peaches and cream or popcorn⁸ and caramel. The same chemistry can also create acrylamide, a potential carcinogen made when meat gets charred⁹ on the barbie. And so chemists continue to work adding flavor to foods while keeping them carcinogen-free. Now that’s a recipe that should win a ticket to Stockholm.

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1 delectable
adj.使人愉快的；美味的
参考例句：
What delectable food you cook!你做的食品真好吃！ But today the delectable seafood is no longer available in abundance.但是今天这种可口的海味已不再大量存在。

2 noted
adj.著名的，知名的
参考例句：
The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。 Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 molecules
分子( molecule的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。 Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

4 savory
adj.风味极佳的，可口的，味香的
参考例句：
She placed a huge dish before him of savory steaming meat.她将一大盘热气腾腾、美味可口的肉放在他面前。 He doesn't have a very savory reputation.他的名誉不太好。

5 grilled
adj. 烤的, 炙过的, 有格子的动词grill的过去式和过去分词形式
参考例句：
He was grilled for two hours before the police let him go. 他被严厉盘查了两个小时后，警察才放他走。 He was grilled until he confessed. 他被严加拷问，直到他承认为止。

6 maple
n.槭树，枫树，槭木
参考例句：
Maple sugar is made from the sap of maple trees.枫糖是由枫树的树液制成的。 The maple leaves are tinge with autumn red.枫叶染上了秋天的红色。

7 syrup
n.糖浆，糖水
参考例句：
I skimmed the foam from the boiling syrup.我撇去了煮沸糖浆上的泡沫。 Tinned fruit usually has a lot of syrup with it.罐头水果通常都有许多糖浆。

8 popcorn
n.爆米花
参考例句：
I like to eat popcorn when I am watching TV play at home.当我在家观看电视剧时，喜欢吃爆米花。 He still stood behind his cash register stuffing his mouth with popcorn.他仍站在收银机后，嘴里塞满了爆米花。

9 charred
v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦
参考例句：
the charred remains of a burnt-out car 被烧焦的轿车残骸 The intensity of the explosion is recorded on the charred tree trunks. 那些烧焦的树干表明爆炸的强烈。来自《简明英汉词典》