What is the Maillard reaction, and why does it make food taste so good?

Have you ever wondered why foods that are browned, roasted or baked taste so yummy?
It’s because of the Maillard reaction, discovered by French chemist Louis-Camille Maillard, who described it in 1912.
The Maillard reaction creates the deep, complex flavours that make toast so comforting, oatmeal cookies so sweetly robust and charred meat so rich with umami. Some people mix it up with caramelization, but they are two completely different food science concepts.
Videographer Shaughn Butts re