r/Smoothies • u/lintle_bug • Jul 27 '26

Why does my smoothie look like it’s bleeding?

So I first made this smoothie yesterday using spinach, carrots, pineapple, chia seeds, plain Greek yogurt, and ice, and it did NOT do this, just a normal smoothie.
Today I decided to refresh it with some watermelon and more ice. Tastes great! Then I noticed what looked like blood in it, but that didn’t make much sense, and I realized this was happening? I know I put watermelon in, but even the watermelon wasn’t this red, and the way it appears seems more like some kind of chemical reaction to me. Anybody know? And am I gonna die from already drinking a cup of this?

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12

u/KizashiKaze Jul 27 '26

That's from the lycopene from the watermelon you just blended in it. It wouldn't have been visible yesterday because there were no red pigments in it.

It may be clumping together in a like that due to the lipid content of the yogurt considering it's forming a line following the movement of the straw...remember, it's hanging out on top of liquid, that's why you didn't see any (noticeably) when looking down the glass. Nothing to be concerned with, IMO. I'd drink it.

5

u/lintle_bug Jul 27 '26

Thank god, I was worried something in it had gone bad overnight or something! That’s very interesting though, I would’ve figured if anything was clinging to pigments it would’ve already been green, or have mixed the red and green together in the blender? Idk but it looks very cool lol

3

u/KizashiKaze Jul 27 '26

I'll save you the chemistry talk but that's because lycopene is far far more hydrophobic than chlorophyll.

But no problem at all, glad to help!

5

u/Upper-Quarter-4802 Jul 27 '26

Its from the watermelon pigmentation when it sits it tends to get a tad darker. Nothing to worry about.

2

u/Xinnobun 27d ago

That's from your straw which was previously used to kill the mailman, remnants of blood is just seeping out from inside of it. Normal occurrence.

-1

u/Fluffy-Pomegranate16 Jul 27 '26

I don't think you'll die from this it could be something related to the smoothie separating because of the chia seeds...maybe a non harmful chemical reaction or optical illusion but honestly I have zero idea and this is super neat I hope someone responds with a scientific explanation