Where does this come from, and can I check it?

The aroma comes from fat and food hitting metal far above boiling. The figure is taken from Royal Society of Chemistry, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a food fact?

Yes. It sits on the Food shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

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The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Wok hei needs a scorching hot pan

The aroma comes from fat and food hitting metal far above boiling Wok hei is the seared, smoky aroma of stir fried food, produced when thin slices of meat and vegetables meet a carbon steel wok at several hundred degrees. At that temperature surface moisture flashes off and browning reactions plus fat oxidation generate volatile compounds within seconds. Home burners rarely deliver enough heat, which is why domestic stir fries taste steamed rather than charred. It sits in Mondo's food collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

Royal Society of Chemistry

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Tags: wok, stir-fry, heat

Wok hei needs a scorching hot pan: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: The aroma comes from fat and food hitting metal far above boiling. The figure is taken from Royal Society of Chemistry, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a food fact?: Yes. It sits on the Food shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.