We all know bacon is delicious.
It’s so delicious, other foods
are made better by adding bacon.
You can even wash your body in bacon.
But there’s something else that makes bacon
the best breakfast food out there:
the smell.
Throw some bacon into the pan,
and as soon as the sizzle starts,
people are flocking to the kitchen…
but why?
Our friend over at “compound interest”,
a chemistry blog, broke down
the aroma science for us.
Turns out there are about *150* organic compounds
that contribute to the sweet smell of bacon.
See, when you throw it in the pan,
sugars react with amino acids in the bacon.
It’s called the “maillard reaction”
and it’s basically what causes anything you cook
(steaks, breads, dumplings, etc) to turn brown.
For bacon, the maillard reaction combines with
melting fats to produce the aroma compounds.
What are they, you say as you get hungrier?
About two thirds of the compounds
are hydrocarbons and aldehydes.
Hydrocarbons are just hydrogen and carbon atoms
chained together in thousands of different ways.
Some of those chains just happen
to produce a pleasant odor.
Aldehydes are equally simple.
They still have carbon, but they bond
with oxygen as well as hydrogen
and some produce a lovely smell.
But it may just be nitrogen-containing
compounds that make bacon smell
like nothing else in the universe.
These compounds are called pyridines and pyrazines,
which put off smells of their own.
Pyridines in bacon contribute to its “meaty” aroma.
But combine them with hydrocarbons
and aldehydes and they become
the major contributor to bacon-y goodness.
So there you have it.
150 compounds all mixing together in
a pan to make bacon smell delicious.
If you haven’t already,
hit that subscribe button
and check out some of our other videos.
Maybe you like hot sauce on your bacon.
Maybe you’re allergic to it
(which would be awful).
We’ve got all your chemistry needs
covered here at reactions.
Thanks for watching and a big thanks
to compound interest for his help
with our bacon video.