Roast pork and ham come from the same animal, but they are prepared and processed differently, which results in the different colors. Roast pork is typically made from pork loin, which is a lean cut of meat. When it is cooked, the heat causes the myoglobin in the meat to denature, turning it white. Ham, on the other hand, is made from the hind leg of a pig, which contains more fat and connective tissue. Ham is also cured and often smoked, which adds salt and other curing agents to the meat and helps to preserve it. This process also causes the meat to turn pink. Additionally, some hams are also injected with a solution called “pink curing solution” which contains sodium nitrite and other ingredients that give the meat its characteristic pink color.
Proteins with iron in them, including the myoglobin in red meat, change color in response to things in the environment.
* When you get them hot or leave them partially deprived of oxygen they turn brown-gray.
* When you give them no oxygen they turn purple.
* Lots of oxygen leaves them red.
* Carbon monoxide causes a different color of red.
* Nitrites and nitrogen compounds in wood smoke turn them pink
Your ham is cured with nitrites. If it says “no added nitrites” on the packaging it’s probably cured with celery juice, which naturally contains nitrites (but because celery is a food, the manufacturer can pretend those nitrites don’t exist). By contrast, your roast pork has no nitrites, and has gotten hot enough to turn the myoglobin brown-gray.
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