Why do crabs and shrimps turn red when cooking?

Question

Why do crabs and shrimps turn red when cooking?

Answer 1

same  sanario as meat turning brown when you cook it. or fish turning white.

Answer 2

"The Internet to the rescue. In a flash I contact two chemists from the west coast: Anne Gardiner and Sue Wilson, who teach a course on cooking chemistry at the University of British Columbia.

Gardiner and Wilson explain that lobster, shrimp, and crab shells have two colors: blackish and orange-pink. Crustaceans look blackish while alive because the orange-pink color exists but is hidden.

The chemists get down to the basics of molecular structure to elucidate. The blackish color is due to protein chains. The orange-pink color is a pigment, similar to the one in carrots. The protein chains hide the orange-pink molecules by wrapping around and containing them. Therefore the shell looks blackish.

What happens if you steam the shrimp or lobster? The protein chains undergo a chemical change when heated: they uncoil and release the orange-pink molecules. The orange color is no longer hidden, and the shell turns orangish-pink."

Answer 3

Because they are so d**n angry! ; )

Answer 4

beef is 'red' until cooked - then it's brown.

chicken is that clearish pink and then white when cooked.

crustations, etc. are clear when raw, and white with red exterior when cooked.

just the way the world works.

Answer 5

Maybe it's the same reason why red meat turn brown when they are cooking