‘Why is it… brown?’: Detail in identical Coles meat packets confuses shopper

Which one would you choose? The correct answer probably isn't what you think.

While browsing the meat section at my local Coles recently, I came across two packs of rump medallions that caught my eye.

Both were the same cut, same weight and same price, yet one was a deep, vibrant red, while the other was a paler, less appealing shade of pinkish-brown. 

Without thinking twice, I grabbed the bright red one.

But later, as I was unpacking my groceries, I started to wonder... why did I automatically choose the redder meat?

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My colleagues agreed with my choice

Curious, I asked my colleagues for their thoughts, and they had similar reactions. 

Leah told me, “The one on the right definitely looks juicier and fresher. We eat with our eyes, so I would go with the right. The left looks old and not appealing at all.” 

Alexandra agreed, saying, “I'd pick the option on the right - the one on the left looks a little icky to me.”

“The one on the left looks frozen. Where is the red juice?” asked Carly.

So, it seems we’re all guilty of judging our food by its appearance.

But is this gut instinct correct?

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An expert weighed in

To find out, I reached out to an expert, Liam Crawley, Master Butcher, chef and Managing Director of DWL Hospitality, who set the record straight.

“When you go to the supermarket and browse the meat display, you can sometimes notice that the meat is a different colour. Many consumers assume that this means that the meat is old or not as fresh as its brighter counterparts but that is simply not the case,” he told Kidspot.

He says that meat that is vacuum sealed, like most supermarket cuts, has had all the air removed. Vacuum sealing stops the meat from spoiling quickly and is a safe way to prolong the life of the meat. This is sometimes referred to as wet aging.

“As an example, if you had two steaks and had one vacuum sealed and the other kept on a plate uncovered in the fridge, the sealed steak might lose some of its colour as it isn’t exposed to any air, whereas the steak on the plate will maintain it’s bright red colour,” he explains, hinting that the meat on the right could have been exposed to more air than the slab on the left before being packaged up. 

“A more classic example of this is when you go to your local butcher shop, the steaks sliced in the display will be beautiful and red to look at, but the underside turns a dark shade of brown as it hasn’t been exposed to any oxygen.”

“Another reason meat becomes discoloured is because of a protein called myoglobin. It’s purplish in colour and when it is mixed with oxygen, it becomes oxymyoglobin and produces a bright red colour. As livestock ages, their meat is often a deeper colour. This is because their myoglobin levels increase with age.”

So, as an experiment, Liam suggests that next time you are at the supermarket, or your local butcher pick out a piece of meat from the display that is darker, and when you get home put it on a plate in the fridge, uncovered.

When you go to cook it for dinner, you will notice that the meat has become a brighter colour and will look and taste just as good as the “better looking” piece of meat you were eyeing off.

So the verdict is, both are safe to eat, and both should taste the same! 

Originally published as ‘Why is it… brown?’: Detail in identical Coles meat packets confuses shopper