And the chemical largely responsible for meat's red color is hemoglobin.

Mike MTM

> "hansdford cole" > wrote:
> ... and ... What is the name of the chemical(s) that make red meat red?

> >"MikeMTM" > wrote:
> > And the chemical largely responsible for meat's red color is hemoglobin.

The "chemical(s) that make red meat red" are oxygen.

The _pigment_ responsible for the red color in meat is oxymyoglobin, a
substance found in all warm-blooded animals. Fresh cut meat is purplish in
color. Oxygen from the air reacts with meat pigments to form a bright red
color which is usually seen on the surface of meat purchased in the
supermarket. The interior of the meat may be grayish brown due to lack of
oxygen. If all the meat in the package has turned grey or brown, it may be
beginning to spoil. [Source: Food Safety and Inspection Service, United
States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 20250-3700, Food Safety
Focus, July 2002]

Similarly, oxygenated (arterial) blood is bright red in colour.
De-oxygenated (venal) blood is purplish, which is why your veins appear
blue, not red.

Haemoglobin (or hemoglobin) is the iron-containing oxygen-transport
metalloprotein in the red cells of the blood in mammals and other animals.

[Oxy]myoglobin is the oxygen-carrying pigment in muscle tissue (i.e. "red
meat"). Although structural similar to hemoglobin, there are a number of
significant differences. For example, haemoglobin exhibits cooperative
binding of oxygen, whereas the binding of oxygen by [oxy]myoglobin is
unaffected by the oxygen tension in the surrounding tissue. [Source: John
Kendrew and Associates, Journal of Molecular Biology, 1957]