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Article: When Red
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- March 14, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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This morning when I was loading dirty dishes into the sink, I
poured last night's unconsumed red wine (a local Maryland
Chambourcin) onto some fried egg white and it turned blue! For fun,
I then mixed a little of the wine with raw egg white, and it showed
only a hint of blue. I am dying to know the chemistry between the
wine and the eggs.
Surprising as that must have been, there is a simple answer. Red
wine is what chemists call an acid-base indicator. It was the wine,
not the egg white, that changed color.
You've heard people talk about a "litmus test" to determine
whether a politician is on the "right" or "wrong" side of an issue.
Litmus, a dye obtained from a lichen, turns red under ...