It's Not Blood, It's Myoglobin!

"My steak is too bloody, can you cook it a little longer?" How many times have we all said this at a restaurant? Well, the truth is, your steak isn't bloody at all (even when it's raw!) The liquid that comes out of your meat when you cook it is a mixture of water and a substance called myoglobin, one of the main components of muscle. Myoglobin is also what gives meat its color. Freshly butchered meat that goes straight into a vacuum package will stay purple. In this phase the myoglobin is called deoxymyoglobin because it has not been oxygenated yet. The meat you buy in a tray at the store is bright red because the myoglobin has been oxygenated and is now called deoxymyglobin. This is what most consumers are used to their meat looking like. Once the meat has started to oxidize, either just being in the package too long, or by cooking, the myoglobin is oxidized and turns a grey/brown color, and is now called metmyoglobin. Some grocers add anti-oxidizing agents to their packages so your meat stays red longer, just because that is what the consumer prefers. In reality, you could buy meat that has started to turn grey around the edges and it would be perfectly edible. The grey/brown color BY NO MEANS that your meat is spoiled. The best way to tell if your meat is spoiled is by smell. Trust me, your nose knows. I have seen many sources claim that stores sell you "spoiled" meat that has been "dyed red" and is really green. HA! If your meat had red dye in it, it would say so on the package. It would be illegal not to. And the only reason meat would ever be green is if it has mold on it. I certainly hope you know better than to eat moldy meat. So please don't fall prey to the scare tactics of anti-ag and anti-meat people who want to trick you into thinking the meat producers are trying to feed you a sub-par product.

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