Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Dave, this made me think of Alton Brown's take on it. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alto ... index.html Don't know if this might help with the colour direction.

Todd- lol.

I think gray always refers to cooked brains. In fact, I always wondered what that term "gray matter" meant. Maybe that somebody had cooked their brains?

I am definitely shooting for some raw color, though I'm sure cooked brains would have the same effect on most people!

Raw brains are yellowish grey (at least that's the colour they turn after being drained of blood and dunked in formaldehyde). The veins are visible only after they are injected with dye. The grey matter is the cortex (the outside of the brain); white-matter are the bundles of nerves that make up the center of the brain (i.e., the subcortical structures). The brainstem and spinal cord tend to be lighter than the brain itself (so the brain itself is light yellowish grey, and the brain stem and spinal cord are sort of off-white). My guess is that fresh brains have a fair bit of pink in them from blood (which would turn darker and more brownish as the blood dries), but dissection labs only have preserved specimens, so that's what I know. Sadly, imaging studies are in black and white, so I can't tell you what live human brains look like colour-wise. I can also tell you that if you store even a preserved brain in the fridge for long enough, it will mold. It's enough to truly upset one's roommates, especially if you store it in what looks like a margarine tub. Nothing like moldy brain on toast! (now to be fair, I DID clearly label it **BRAIN - DO NOT EAT** on all sides, but they thought I just wanted them not to eat my margarine). So a moldy brain might be particularly gruesome for Hallowe'en.

Carey,

TMI...

IMHO...

Amy

Yah, it's probably why I'm not allowed to be in charge of Hallowe'en decorations at my house.

And I bet that I could get a good variety of mold to grow on those agar agar brains! LOL

In the giant squid the axons in the brain and limbs are large enough to see with the naked eye.