Have you ever wondered what the red liquid is that oozes from a steak?
Of course you've not. It's blood. Surely it's blood, right?
Well actually, wrong. That red liquid that's often found underneath your steak, or pooling on the plate once you've cut into a juicy ribeye, is actually something else.
Shocking, we know.
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The best part about this fact is that you can now inform your mate who always orders their steak well done.
Next time they ask for it to arrive looking like a piece of old leather, because they 'don't like blood', you can be a smart-arse and tell them what it actually is.
Sure, it might not convince them to switch to rare, after all it still looks *a lot* like blood.
So, it turns out it's actually a protein found in muscle tissue called myoglobin, which carries oxygen through muscle. It mixes with water and some other pigments and voila, it becomes a red liquid.
Myoglobin is also what gives the meat its red colour. When it's cooked the myoglobin darkens, which is why your steak changes colour while you're cooking it.
Jeffrey Savell, professor of Meat Science at Texas A&M University told HuffPost that older animals have more myoglobin, which is why veal is much lighter than meat from an adult cow.
He added that the freshest cuts of meat will actually be a sort of purple colour. However, just because meat on the supermarket shelf looks a little brown/grey, doesn't mean it's no good to eat.
He said: "Brown meat doesn't mean it's bad. But stores will discount it, mark it down. If you buy brown meat, just be sure to cook it right away, because it's likely already been out there for three or four days."
If you're a bit of a steak connoisseur, you might have dined at Miller & Carter.
And if you have visited the ‘Masters of Steak’ chain, you may have been left wondering why on earth you were served half a ball of lettuce prior to the main event.
Well, now we have answers.
Just before your steak arrives at a Miller & Carter steakhouse, a wedge of the green stuff is served at the table.
But why?
A Miller & Carter restaurant in Coventry recently posted some ‘Wedgucation’ on social media to explain the purpose of the leaves coming before the hunks of meat.
It says that the role of the wedge is as: “A refreshing appetiser which perfectly compliments the flavours of our steak.”
They added: “The wedge provides a cold crisp texture to accompany our steak. Iceberg lettuce also helps our digestive system break down heavy proteins and carbohydrates."
You can read more on the science behind that, here.
Topics: Food And Drink
Lucy Devine