Duck breast is scientifically considered white meat, although its darker color might lead to confusion.
Understanding Meat Classification
The color of meat is often used to categorize it, but the scientific classification is based on the type of muscle fibers. Poultry, including duck, is classified as white meat due to the predominant type of muscle fibers it contains.
While duck breast is darker than chicken or turkey breast, this is due to the higher myoglobin content in the muscle fibers, resulting from the duck's greater muscle use. Myoglobin is a protein that stores oxygen in muscles. The more active a muscle, the higher the myoglobin concentration, leading to a darker color. This doesn't change the scientific classification of the meat.
- White meat: Generally leaner, lighter in color, and has a higher proportion of fast-twitch muscle fibers.
- Dark meat: Generally richer in flavor, darker in color, and has a higher proportion of slow-twitch muscle fibers, resulting in higher myoglobin content.
Therefore, even with its darker hue, duck remains scientifically classified as white meat because of its muscle fiber composition and its classification as poultry.
In other words, duck meat may be “dark,” but it's not scientifically classified as “red” meat. Since duck is classified as poultry, it's scientifically considered a white meat. However, it has a darker color than most cuts of chicken and turkey meat, as ducks use certain muscles more.
