no redish color like the store kind, was it because i did not have a stainless or cast iron pot and did the soaking in tupperware? anyway, my husband loved it, said it was better then store bought. i thought it was salty and it made the veggies salty. maybe thats why my grandmother used to cook her corned beef for an hour, drain the water and start with fresh water for the rest of the cooking time, she probably corned her own beef back in the early 1920's when she was a young wife.