- Beef that isn't a bright cherry red is a big turnoff
but that change in color might not be what you think.
(upbeat music)
Here in the Test Kitchen and Certified Angus Beef,
we're trying to help you become the most educated person
at the meat case.
So let's dive into the factors
that affect the coloration of beef.
Here's what I did to set this up.
Yesterday, I took a top sirloin, cut it into various steaks
and stored them in different ways
to really help illustrate what conditions
will affect the coloration of beef.
Let's start with a steak in this vacuum seal.
This is similar to how beef comes packaged originally
because in this packaging, it is deprived of oxygen.
And you can tell because it's got this kind of
purple color to it, and it's not super bright red.
Now this is a steak that's been allowed to really breathe
and what we call bloom.
Bloom is what happens when you cut the steak
and you let it be exposed to the oxygen.
And there's really a main factor in that.
So bloom is a result of two pigments of the meat
and I'm gonna get really sciency here.
The main pigment that colors the meat is myoglobin.
And when myoglobin is exposed to oxygen,
it becomes Oxymyoglobin,
and Oxymyoglobin is what's responsible
for that beautiful cherry red color
that is so attractive when it comes to a steak.
When you're in the meat department,
you may see beef packaged on a black tray and overwrapped
or you might buy it from the counter.
And when you get that package home,
you'll open it up and your steaks are a nice, bright red
but maybe you put them in the fridge overnight
to cook in the next day.
And then you'll find that the steaks will be discolored.
And you'll think to yourself
that maybe there's something wrong with them.
Maybe you did something wrong
but there's nothing wrong with these steaks.
Now that is an effect
of the myoglobin being deprived of oxygen.
When it's in this packaging,
there's still a little bit of air around
but when these two steaks are firmly touching each other,
there's no oxygen to keep it that beautiful cherry red.
And the effect on that is what's called metmyoglobin.
And that's when you get that off color
maybe it goes back to a little bit of this purple,
maybe it turns a little bit brown,
but that is just an oxidizing effect.
It is not actually a sign of the quality of the meat.
This is still just as fresh as this.
They were cut at the same time,
refrigerated right next to each other.
But this has been deprived of oxygen in two specific areas
and you can really tell.
Now we'll move on to our next steak.
Here, we have another steak
that was cut at the same time, refrigerated
but I left this completely uncovered.
And as you can see, it's a little bit darker.
It's definitely a little bit drier
and the colors have definitely changed.
They aren't quite as brightened cherry as this steak here
but again, there's nothing wrong with this steak.
It's just the fact that this was exposed heavily to oxygen
in that refrigerator where the oxygen
is kind of flowing over top.
And you'll see that a lot of the time in meat cases
because there isn't anything protecting that steak
from the air around it.
It will change a little bit.
And again, you might see a little bit of that metmyoglobin
turning it brown
but this is still a fresh steak.
It was still cut at the same time.
So there's nothing wrong with this one either.
There's just factors that change the color of that steak
and it's completely natural.
Another way to really illustrate the color difference
is the last way I started one of these steaks.
In meat departments, you'll see this peach paper used
and this stuff is great because
it allows a little bit of oxygen
to flow under the steak because it's woven.
If it were sitting right on a metal sheet pan,
it would turn brown, but because of this, it protects it.
It wicks some of the moisture away
and allows a little bit of oxygen to keep it cherry red.
And you'll especially see this right here.
So on this steak, I put the peach paper over half
and this half was sitting directly on a metal sheet pan.
And you can really see the difference
where this remained red
and this started to really discolor
where it was hitting that sheet pan.
And again, there was no other effect on this.
It's still just as fresh as the rest
but the slight difference
of having the peach paper underneath
affected the color of the steak.
Another thought, let's talk real quickly about ground beef.
When beef is ground,
it turns a bright cherry red due to the exposure to oxygen
but then it's packaged and wrapped in plastic.
And the center of the ground beef is now deprived of oxygen.
And that metmyoglobin will form
in the center of the ground beef
because it doesn't have the oxygen
to stay a bright cherry red.
There's nothing wrong with the quality of that ground beef.
It just changes over time, just like the sticks.
Now you've seen a lot
of the factors that affect the color of meat.
Let's just touch on
what happens when meat really is spoiled.
Sometimes beef can get miss rotated,
can go out of temperature.
There are many factors that happen
but what you really want to rely on is your nose.
All of these, they're safe to eat.
They don't smell any different.
They just have changed a little bit.
When meat starts to spoil,
you can really tell because it will have an off odor,
it will have an off texture,
it might feel a little slimy.
But those are the signs of spoilage.
Color can be a factor but it's not the only one.
Use all of your senses to really tell
if that meat has gone bad
because color isn't the defining factor.
Meat that's spoilt might be a little more green
whereas these could be a little more brown or purple
but there's nothing wrong with them
because they're all just as fresh as the next.
And if you sear every one of these steaks right now
and cooked them up,
I guarantee you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
This will give you confidence
about that beef that's in your fridge
and empower you to be the smartest shopper at the meat case.
Thanks for joining me here in the Test Kitchen
at Certified Angus Beef and remember to like, and subscribe.
We'll see you next time.
(upbeat music)