A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Why do crabs, lobsters, and shrimp turn red when they cook?

Best Answers

While they might be bright red when they hit your dinner plate, crabs and lobsters are usually brown, olive-green or gray when alive and in the wild (at least in the mid-Atlantic U.S.; crustaceans farther south come in a variety of vibrant colors). read more

Lobsters and crabs have a pigment called astaxanthin in their shells. Astaxanthin is a carotenoid pigment: absorbing blue light and appearing red, orange or yellow in color. While the crustaceans are alive, astaxanthin lies wrapped in the tight embrace of a protein called crustacyanin. read more

It is due to a chemical called astaxanthin, which is contained in their shells.Astaxanthin is a carotenoid pigment: absorbing blue light and appearing red, orange or yellow in color. read more

The pink or red color is the pigment astaxanthin, but its molecules are wrapped up in dark protein chains. So the shells are dark. Whenever you cook a protein, though, it uncoils, or denatures, and in the case of these shellfish, that frees the red pigment and the shell changes color. read more

It is due to a chemical called astaxanthin, which is contained in their shells. Astaxanthin is a carotenoid pigment: absorbing blue light and appearing red, orange or yellow in color. While the crustaceans are alive, astaxanthin lies wrapped in the tight embrace of a protein called crustacyanin. read more

Encyclopedia Research

Wikipedia: