During the cooking process, many people have probably encountered a situation where they saw a rainbow glow on the surface of beef or pork when slicing. When seeing this, many people will question it, even thinking that the meat is spoiled or contaminated with metal, which is why it has such a strange color.
1. Why does the meat have a rainbow glow when c.u.t?
This is a natural phenomenon of light refraction, which occurs when light comes into contact with the fat and iron layer on the surface of the meat, causing the light rays to bend and create a rainbow glow.
Dr. Thomas Powel, executive director of the American Meat Science Association, also gave an explanation for the rainbow glow when sliced. According to Dr. Thomas, when the meat is sliced thinly across the grain, the muscle lines are cut across the grain, when exposed to the right moisture, the meat will have such a sparkling color.
The meat covered with a rainbow shimmer makes many people worried, even suspecting that the meat is contaminated with metal. Illustration
2. Should you use a piece of meat with a rainbow glow?
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) also confirmed that this rainbow-like phenomenon can appear not only in beef but also in other types of meat such as pork, fish, bacon and ham when the elements in the meat reflect light under the influence of heat.
Therefore, users do not need to worry too much when they see a piece of sliced meat with a rainbow glow. We can still use this piece of meat as usual in case the meat does not have any other unusual signs such as a rancid smell, poor meat quality, etc.
Therefore, when choosing to use food, consumers need to observe carefully and make careful assessments to ensure that they buy quality and safe products.