Toast Shades

Big question: Why does bread turn brown and smell so good when it toasts?

Compare a plain slice with a golden and a dark slice your grown-up toasts, then taste how the flavor changes.

What you need

• 3 slices of plain white bread
• A toaster
• 3 plates
• Butter, if you like
• Crayons and paper

What to do

1. Meet the plain sliceWash your hands first and check every ingredient with your grown-up. Put one slice on a plate without toasting it. Look at it, sniff it and take a small bite.
2. Make it goldenYour grown-up toasts the second slice on a low setting and puts it on a plate. The toaster is a grown-up job, so stand back while it works.
3. Make it darkYour grown-up toasts the third slice on a high setting, until it is dark brown but not black. Sniff the air. What changed?
4. Line them upSet the plates in a row: pale, golden, dark. Draw the three shades with your crayons.
5. Taste testWhen the toast has cooled for a minute, taste each slice. Which is plain, which is nutty and sweet, and which is strong and a little bitter?

What is happening?

When bread gets hot, its sugars and proteins react with each other and make new brown colors and toasty smells. This is called the Maillard reaction (say my-YAR), and it browns cookie edges and muffin tops too. Sugar can also brown on its own when it gets very hot, which is called caramelizing, but in toast the Maillard reaction does most of the browning. The longer bread toasts, the darker and stronger it gets, until it burns black and bitter.

The toaster is hot and electric, so only your grown-up puts bread in or takes toast out. Never poke anything into a toaster.

Try it

• 
  Little Helpers

  Vanilla Blueberry Muffins

• 
  Junior Bakers

  Vanilla Brown Sugar Cookies

Check yourself