Why does cooked food generally taste better than raw food?

Question

Aren’t we just supplying heat to the food? What causes the drastic difference in taste?

In: Chemistry

Answer 1

High heat supplies the activation energy for a number of chemical reactions that transform the compounds in the food. One of the most important is the [Maillard reaction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maillard_reaction), which denatures the proteins in cooked food and causes many changes in color and taste. This is why so many recipes say something like “cook at 350 °F” – lower temperatures aren’t hot enough to activate this process (or will only do so very slowly), while a higher temperature will quickly burn whatever you’re trying to cook.