Anonymous wrote:Shame on all the nonsense commenters. If you don't know the answer, just stfu.
I have had so many vegetable solutions turn pink upon addition of lemon juice. All I know, unfortunately, is that it might be a reaction caused by the acid in the lemon juice.

So unfortunate indeed

Shame on all the nonsense commenters. If you don't know the answer, just stfu.
I have had so many vegetable solutions turn pink upon addition of lemon juice. All I know, unfortunately, is that it might be a reaction caused by the acid in the lemon juice.

Anonymous wrote:This happened because you were planning on not giving enough spears to each person.

The vegetable KNEW.

This happened because you were planning on not giving enough spears to each person.

The vegetable KNEW.

Was there a scrap of a sticker, rubber band or some type of packaging?

I’ve had that, not a big deal

NP. I cook a lot of asparagus and I have never had that happen. Weird! Thank you to the poster with the scientific answer!

Found on Reddit: Asparagus contains a natural pH indicator, as do many other plants (red cabbage makes a good one). Lemon juice is acidic, so adding it changes the colour. That article has some general explanation on how they work; the basic idea (let's see how much chemistry I remember) is that you have an equilibrium reaction with the balance depending on the pH of the environment, and if the two sides of the reaction are different colours, one colour or the other dominates depending on the pH.

Anonymous wrote:http://modernfarmer.com/2014/04/10-surprising-facts-asparagus/

This was great but didn't answer the question. This happens - I think it's a chemical reaction with the lemon.

Anonymous wrote:Were they wrapped in rubber bands? Could be a small bit of rubber band was left on and the dye colored the water.

Sounds like a Bridget Jones thing...

Were they wrapped in rubber bands? Could be a small bit of rubber band was left on and the dye colored the water.

Nobody?

Cook them in your own pee
- Bear Ghrylls

What the hell is that?

I steamed it, squirted some lemon juice on it, and have PINK.