What is the difference between having some “char” and something being burnt? Why is one something often preferred and the other pretty much universally hated?

Question

Say you’re having steaks for instance; Why is it that a bit of char tastes good (to a lot of people), but it’s different than being burnt? Isn’t charring just some level of burning? And what makes the difference between when something will taste charred or burnt?

In: 3

Answer 1

Char is usually present only in very small quantities if you want to add a bitter or smoky flavor to something. It’s always done at very high heat for a very short time (like on a grill) so you will have a lot of good non-char food with a little crust of char on the outside. If something is burnt, there’s too much char and the bitter/dry/smokiness takes over.

Keep in mind though almost no dishes use char. Like a charred steak is generally overdone. What you’re usually looking for is an even layer of browning (shiny and dark caramel colored) rather than char (matte black like charcoal). Browned flavors are sweet and savory rather than bitter and smoky.