Making chicken transparent using Dorito dust
Points and comments are a snapshot, not live.
Soaking chicken in a tartrazine (Dorito dye) solution makes it partially transparent.
The author attempted to replicate a paper on making biological tissues transparent by soaking chicken breast in a tartrazine solution. Tartrazine is the yellow-orange dye found on Doritos. Using ~0.19 M solution for 12 hours at room temperature on a 2mm slice, he achieved partial transparency, with grid lines visible through the meat. The full paper used 0.62 M, 40°C, and a machine shaker. The technique shifts the refractive index of water to match that of proteins and lipids, reducing light scattering. The author plans a more ambitious replication and sees potential for low-cost home imaging of tissue structure.
What commenters are saying
Commenters found the topic entertaining, joking about transparent chicken tenders and the origin story. A discussion on naturalism in food arose, with some uneasy about the chemical nature of Doritos, countered by arguments that many 'natural' foods are also highly processed or dangerous. A scientific correction noted that transparent fish and frogs still have opaque blood due to hemoglobin, and that the technique only works where opacity is due to refractive index mismatch. Another comment suggested using a sous vide bath for a longer soak without food safety risk.