Why do lobsters turn red? (when we cook them)

When you think of lobsters, you probably always imagine them being red. But they're only actually red after they die, or more specifically, after we cook them. Why? Is it because being cooked is really embarrassing? That's what I thought too but the real explanation is more complicated and very chemical. Let's find out.

#132

When you think of lobsters, you probably always imagine them being red. But they're only actually red after they die, or more specifically, after we cook them. Why? Is it because being cooked is really embarrassing? That's what I thought too but the real explanation is more complicated and very chemical. Let's find out.

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References from this episode

  1. https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/invertebrates/rainbow-colorful-lobsters#:~:text=But%20when%20a%20lobster%20is,in%20the%20Northeastern%20U.S.%20ocean.
  2. https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/newsreleases/2013/august/the-chemistry-behind-lobster-color-and-shell-disease-new-acs-vid.html
  3. http://news.neaq.org/2013/08/the-colorful-chemistry-of-lobster-shells.html
  4. https://www.nature.com/articles/news050214-4#:~:text=When%20a%20lobster%20is%20boiled,lobster%20its%20freshly%2Dcooked%20colour.
  5. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jp401873k
  6. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.152088999
  7. https://www.pnas.org/doi/pdf/10.1073/pnas.152088999
  8. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ja045049%2B


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