Rigor Mortis or Rigatoni? Food for Thought on Halloween

Planning your Halloween menu? Here are some facts you might share with your friends:

Rigor mortis, the stiffening of a corpse shortly after death, is a key aspect of the meat industry. Yes, meat comes from a corpse, and dead cows, chickens, pigs, and other animals develop rigor mortis, just as dead humans do. Meat scientists actually measure rigor mortis with a device aptly named a rigorometer, which quantifies the stiffness of muscle tissues in the hours after death.

Rigor mortis makes meat tough. So, to soften stiffening corpses, many slaughterhouses, especially those slaughtering cows and lambs, apply electrical current, causing the muscles to repeatedly contract and relax, which prevents the shortening of the muscle fibers. That way, corpses are easier to eat.

If that image is off-putting, the good news is that certain foods never get rigor mortis. Instead of chicken fingers, leg of lamb, and baby back ribs for your Halloween buffet, how about serving butternut soup, chunky vegetable chili, and rigatoni with vegetables. These are treats without the tricks!