# The colour of salted meat

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-colour-of-salted-meat/193508>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 7, 2003, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-colour-of-salted-meat/193508 "2003-08-07T03:15:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\
**Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-colour-of-salted-meat/193508/1 "2003-08-07T03:15:56Z")

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Cooked pork is white, cooked beef is greyish brown. Salt is white and becomes transparent in solution.

So why are bacon and corned beef and ham pink?

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**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\
**Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-colour-of-salted-meat/193508/2 "2003-08-07T04:52:31Z")

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Nitrates and nitrites. They bind with the myoglobin and alter its color properties (and other chemistry of the meat).