What are the fundamentals of charring?

Charring is a technique where you intentionally burn an ingredient, or part of an ingredient, in a controlled manner using direct, high heat. This can be done in a pan, grill, oven, or with direct flame.

• Charring is a great way to achieve texture & color contrast and a controlled bitter flavor in a dish.

Why?

• Charred, carbonized bits of food get you complex flavors that taste like it was cooked over a charcoal fire (even if it wasn’t).

🍳 Kitchen Tool: Pan, Grill, Torch, Oven

🔥 Heat Type: Radiation or Conduction

🌡️ Temperature: 400-500°F/204-260°C

🧪 Food Reaction(s): Maillard Dehydration

Example Foods

• Deeply roasted carrots
• Seared onions
• Grill marks on a chicken breast