We ’ve all get wind the admonition of nutrition expert warning againsteating too much scarlet meat . But what exactly gives red meat its dark chromaticity , while chicken and fish last out comparatively blank ? You may think of a super - raw steak as " flaming , " but gore has nothing to do with it . It ’s all chemistry .
track of beef cattle consist ofslow - twitch muscles , which contract slowly and release vigor over longer period of time for survival activities . truehearted - twitching muscles , by contrast , sign on quickly to support rapid bursts of motility .
Slow - twitch muscles rely on the bearing of a red protein prognosticate myoglobin , which stores atomic number 8 to keep the muscles get going . Fast - twitch muscles habituate the lighterglycogenfor energy instead .
The more time an beast spends standing and walking around , as react to energy - intensive activities like flying , the more obtuse - vellication muscles it will have , and the darker its pith will be . That ’s why plodding cows have a mess of red , myoglobin - rich kernel , and frenzied chickens have more white inwardness . porc , despite its reputation as " the other lily-white nub , " is definitely red , though it has less myoglobin than beef . And in case you ’re inquire , human gist would beconsidered cherry-red meat . ( Cannibals , watch out for heart disease ! )
The American Chemical Society ’s TV seriesReactionsexplains the skill of grilling ruddy meat :
Meat startsbloominga vibrant red color when atomic number 8 binds to the iron atom of the myoglobin . After a few days , the myoglobin loses its ability to bind , and the meatbecomes brown . That ’s why the redness of nub is typically a sign of glow . But sometimes even wise center looks brownish in the package , because of a lack of oxygen within the seal plastic . It ’s also why nub producer oftenadd carbon monoxideto packaged cut of meat , to keep it look red and juicy regardless of the packaging ( or the expiration escort ) .
When the sum goes on the grillwork and the myoglobin heats up above 140 degree Fahrenheit , it get turn brown , turning your rare cut into a grey - brown lump of well - done steak . felicitous broil , and recall : Meat is for eat , not for dark eyes .
