“Why does fried duck get golden, crispy and delicious?”/“The mallard reaction.”

The Maillard reaction is the chemical reaction that gives browned food *such as grilled meat) its flavor. “Maillard” has nothing to do with “mallard” (a duck), but there have been many puns.
 
“What do you get when you brown a #duck?...........wait for it…............a Mallard Reaction. Quack!” was posted on Twitter on February 9, 2010. “Never try to impress a duck by cooking a burger on a cold skillet. You won’t get the desired mallard reaction” was posted on Twitter on May 14, 2012.
 
A riddle was posted on Reddit—Dad Jokes on February 8, 2018:
 
Q: Why does fried duck get golden, crispy and delicious?
A: The mallard reaction.
 
     
Wikipedia: Maillard reaction
The Maillard reaction (/maɪˈjɑːr/ my-YAR; French pronunciation: ​[majaʁ]) is a chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars that gives browned food its distinctive flavor. Seared steaks, pan-fried dumplings, cookies and other kinds of biscuits, breads, toasted marshmallows, as well as many other foods, undergo this reaction. It is named after French chemist Louis-Camille Maillard, who first described it in 1912 while attempting to reproduce biological protein synthesis.
 
The reaction is a form of non-enzymatic browning which typically proceeds rapidly from around 140 to 165 °C (280 to 330 °F). Many recipes will call for an oven temperature high enough to ensure that a Maillard reaction occurs. At higher temperatures, caramelization and subsequently pyrolysis become more pronounced.
       
Twitter
Neal Foley‏
@Podchef
What do you get when you brown a #duck?...........wait for it…............a Mallard Reaction. Quack!
9:14 AM - 9 Feb 2010
   
Twitter
HTownChowDown‏
@HTownChowDown
Never try to impress a duck by cooking a burger on a cold skillet. You won’t get the desired mallard reaction.
9:59 PM - 14 May 2012
   
Twitter
John Middleton‏
@midtown96
Take a beautifully seared piece of meat. Throw it at someone’s head. If they duck, that’s known as a Mallard Reaction. Where
7:34 PM - 16 Aug 2012
 
Twitter
Millennial Thing Ruiner‏
@derpthrone
Mallard reaction??? What the fuck does cooking a steak have to do with ducks??? Lol idiots
10:57 PM - 15 Jan 2013
     
Twitter
logical fal’cie‏
@brightsuzaku
The roasty smell and flavor of grilled meat is due to the Maillard reaction.
...... So does grilled duck produce the Mallard reaction?
11:31 AM - 2 Jan 2015
 
Twitter
J.J. Wright‏
@JJWrong
Food “browns” when cooked due to millions of tiny ducks that hatch upon heating. This is known as “the Mallard reaction.”
9:08 AM - 2 Apr 2015
   
Twitter
Leesa Brown‏
@ReasonVsFear
Do you know why most ducks are brown? It’s the “Mallard Reaction.” 😉 @altonbrown #BadPunAndObscureReference
6:09 PM - 9 Dec 2016
   
Twitter
MehGyver‏
@AndrewNadeau0
MAILLARD REACTION: Chemical reaction between amino acids & reducing sugars.
MALLARD REACTION: When you see ducks & say, “OMG, ducks!”
8:07 PM - 10 Jun 2017
   
Twitter
Paul Krueger @ ECCC‏
@NotLikeFreddy
I’m gonna roast this duck until the skin turns brown and crispy and caramelized
it’s gonna be a mallard reaction
2:11 PM - 17 Nov 2017
 
Twitter
Ben Stanley‏
@BDStanley
If you sear duck breasts, do you get the Mallard reaction?
2:04 PM - 2 Feb 2018
 
Reddit—Dad Jokes
why does fried duck get golden, crispy and delicious? (self.dadjokes)
submitted February 8, 2018 by ulpisen
the mallard reaction
COMMENTS
frankgrimes1
had to google Maillard. 10/10 would never get it.