Charred describes food with a blackened, crisp, often bitter-edged exterior produced by cooking over intense, direct heat such as grilling, broiling, or searing. The high heat caramelizes surface sugars and proteins through the Maillard reaction while the interior stays tender, giving a smoky flavor contrast. Charring differs from simple browning or searing in degree: it pushes past caramelization into visible blackening, and taken too far it leaves an acrid, bitter taste rather than a well-developed crust.