Food can be very mysterious but it isn't. The “rainbow” that you see, then, is the gradual shift from one dominant color to another as the thickness varies. I have some deli meat that's 3 days old and has been kept in the fridge. “ Restructured ” or processed meats like deli turkey or bologna are made by binding together and reshaping separate smaller pieces of meat. David McCowan is a contributor to The Takeout and a physicist at The University of Chicago. When these waves overlap, we see only the resulting sum. If this fat seeps out, it can form a layer on the surface and change the situation from a simple single reflection to a double reflection—one off the front surface where the air meets the fat layer and another off the back surface where the fat layer meets the meat. Have you ever turned over a slice of roast beef and caught that glimmer? Sort by. You could also see pink meat when you buy(not you specifically)corned beef. To be clear the nitrites aren't pink. Is American cheese considered a high quality cheese, or is it basically just crap? When waves are out-of-phase, they cancel and the light disappears. If two waves are in-phase—that is, if the peaks line up with the peaks, and the troughs line up with the troughs—then the sum is a bigger wave, called constructive interference. But what you’re seeing is the common optical phenomenon of interference, not the sign of rancid putrefaction. However, while this is true for most of the light going through the thin layer, there may be a few select wavelengths of light where the distance traveled through the film and back is exactly right to keep the front and rear reflections in-phase. Archived. The second interference effect is called diffraction. To be clear the nitrites aren't pink. The first is called thin-film interference. Over time, the pigment does regain its ability to bind oxygen, and the pink tinge fades. In that process, all muscle fiber order is lost, and furthermore, the binding agents tend to plug up any gaps between fibers that survive, further reducing the periodicity and structure of the grating. In Food Science, experts answer our confounding questions about the mysterious world of food. That metallic sheen is just an optical trick that that affects the looks but not the taste or safety of your lunchmeat. A similar phenomenon occurs in other meats which is why a well done brisket can still have what cooks refer to as a smoke ring on the top 1/2" of meat. Unlike the gradual undulations of an oil slick, you see a brilliant kaleidoscope spinning through all the colors of the spectrum as you tilt the disc. Glad to see I’m not going to die! An anonymous person gave me what looks like a huge chunk of pumpkin. But is it really that bad for you? Share your thoughts living the best life here. Once the meat has been cooked or cured, the fibers tighten, enhancing the grating effect. “Restructured” or processed meats like deli turkey or bologna are made by binding together and reshaping separate smaller pieces of meat. Muscles are made up of proteins that bind into strands, and these strands in turn group into long fibers, each about one or two micrometers in diameter. I bought a Hill-shire farm packaged turkey meat, and wouldn't you know it, almost all the pieces have these red spots on them. The answer is, it depends. It is also most visible on meat sliced from whole muscle—and only when cut against the grain—that preserves the natural periodicity of the muscle fibers. Though rainbow meat looks suspicious, there’s nothing wrong with it. no comments yet. best. If two waves are out-of-phase—peaks lined up with troughs—then the sum is a complete cancelation, called destructive interference. The red liquid some may see leaking from hamburger actually isn't blood or hemoglobin. Red spots on packaged deli meat? You’ve seen this effect if you’ve even watched light play off the grooves in a CD or DVD. What does this have to do with lunchmeat? The rest of it's dark brown because all the myoglobin has darkened. That's just myoglobin which is a distant relative of hemoglobin. Any mixture of light incident on the slice of meat will encounter these well-ordered fibers and reflect only certain colors out at certain angles. With its processed reputation, deli meat (including sliced turkey, ham and roast beef) is not making many "clean eating" lists these days. That's because of nitrite's used during the curing process. Click here to browse! That's because of nitrite's used during the curing process. Optical interference happens whenever a light wave reflected off one surface encounters a wave reflected off another surface close by. Some deli cuts, especially cured meats, are rich in fat and oil. This type of interference is what gives oil slicks their hues of purple and green, and what gives bubbles that warbling rainbow shimmer. Pile on another layer of corned beef and eat up. Join Yahoo Answers and get 100 points today. I actually saw that for the first time just a few days ago. It's myoglobin . If your turkey is carved from a whole bird, just stick to Nummer's 7-day plan. And should you ever see this red liquid draining from hamburger, it's not blood. Cooked of course, right. Red spots on deli sliced turkey? New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. The effect is also rarely seen in raw meat. save hide report. It has me concerned since i fed some to my GF and myself the other day in … Take a few fat blobs away from one spot and pile them up somewhere else and the thickness changes enough to alter the wavelength that will fit the constructive interference condition in that spot.

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