Most of us are familiar with a good steak—the taste, the smell, the texture (and the price).
A great steak is one of life’s simple pleasures, and opinions vary on how it should be cooked. Some people believe a steak should be rare or at most medium. We’ve all seen Gordon Ramsay criticize those who cook it “RAW!”
But have you ever cut into a rare steak and assumed that the red liquid that comes out is blood? We’ve likely heard this from friends, family, TV shows, or YouTube cooking tutorials. “I like my steaks bloody,” my uncle used to say.
If you’ve been told that the red liquid is “blood,” here’s the truth…
It’s actually myoglobin, a protein that helps deliver oxygen to an animal’s muscles. Myoglobin turns red when meat is cut or exposed to air and darkens with heat. So, the red color in a rare steak is due to the lower cooking temperature making the myoglobin’s color more intense.
Read more on next page
