why that bright red is pure marketing

You are in front of the counter. On the left, a bright red, almost advertisement-like steak that screams “eat me, I’m fresh!” On the right, a piece of a duller tone, perhaps a little darker, but streaked with fine white lines. Which one do you choose? Most we launch ourselves into the vibrant red. It’s a reflex action. Although he is not always the smartest.

It is something recognized by those who are in contact with this product all day, such as butchers. One of the examples is Mariano Sánchez who told La Vanguardia recognized that customers can pay a lot of attention to the color of the product, but he points out that the real key is in the fat of the fillet.

This makes us have an almost obligatory question: is this a simple shopkeeper’s trick or does it have a real scientific basis? The short answer: you are absolutely right. They have been deceiving you, and a protein and a little oxygen are to blame.

The myth of bright red. What we associate with “fresh meat” is nothing more than a superficial chemical reaction. The color of meat is determined by a protein called myoglobin.which stores oxygen in the muscle. In this way, when the meat is freshly cut or vacuum packed, the myoglobin is in its natural state (deoxymoglobin) and has a fairly dark purple-red color. And this is not something bad or something that should be despised.

But when meat reacts with oxygen in the airthe myoglobin reacts and becomes oxymyoglobin. This compound has the bright cherry red color that attracts us so much. It is literally the ‘blooming’ that occurs on the surface.

In short: the color bright red it only indicates that the meat has been in contact with airnot that it is of better quality, more tender or tastier. In fact, a vacuum-packed meat (purple in color) can be much fresher and less oxidized than the one glistening on the tray.

The key is fat. This is where the butcher was completely right. What really defines the sensory experience of a good steak is not the color, but intramuscular fatpopularly known as “marbling” or “veining”. We talk about those fine streaks of white fat that infiltrate into the musclenot from the large layer of fat that surrounds it (which is also important to protect the piece, but that’s another story).

And fat is responsible for the three most important virtues that we look for in a meat product. The first of them is the flavorsince fat is the vehicle for aromatic compounds, and during cooking this fat melts and releases these molecules, flooding the meat with flavor. A lean meat (without fat) It is, by definition, a meat with less flavor.

Juiciness is the most obvious factor related to fat. As it melts, the intramuscular fat “waters” the steak from within, lubricating the muscle fibers and helping to retain water. It’s what makes the difference between a tender bite and a dry piece of cork.

Studies on the sensory acceptability of beef show a direct and positive correlation: the more marbling, the higher consumer scores for flavor, juiciness and general acceptance.

How to buy meat. So, the next time you go to a butcher shop, you don’t have to look at different points to have the best possible culinary and gustatory result. As summary points we can have the following checklist:

1. Look for marbling: it is the number one quality indicator of a piece of meat. You should always look for pieces with a fine, well-distributed network of white fat veins.
2. Color of fat: Intramuscular fat should be pearly white or, at most, slightly yellowish (something that indicates a step-based diet). What you have to avoid is pink, gray or reddish fats.
3. The texture: a meat should have a firm, dense appearance and a dry surface (or slightly moist, but never sticky). If the mark disappears quickly when you press it with your finger, it is a good sign of freshness. If it is slimy or soft, that is a bad sign.
4. Don’t focus on the color. When you see a piece with a dark, almost maroon color, you should not discard it immediately. This often indicates that it is an older animal or that it has gone through a dry-aging process. In these processes, the meat loses moisture and its own enzymes break down the fibers and increase the tenderness.

In short, the color in the end, although it is the letter of presentation of a piece of meat, the reality is that it is not the only factor that directly influences the quality of the product that we are going to put in our mouths.

Images | Sergey Kotenev

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