HOW TO MAKE NATURAL FOOD COLORING
A surefire way to avoid artificial food dyes is to make your own natural versions. There are tons of different ingredients you can use to make food dyes and plenty of recipes online to suit your specific project’s needs. Here are a few great ideas to get started.
Blue and Purple Food Coloring
These colors are notoriously difficult to achieve, even for makers of synthetic food coloring. Your best option is to work with red cabbage or radicchio. Per the instructions at Whole New Mom, start by washing and chopping the cabbage (or radicchio); put the cabbage in a pot, cover with water, and simmer on the stovetop for 10 minutes.14 This process will leave you with a purple liquid. Use it as-is if you want a purple color, or add ½ teaspoon increments of baking soda until the liquid becomes a bright blue. (Baking soda will affect the flavor of the coloring, so use as little as possible to reach the desired color.) Other options include blueberry juice and concentrated purple grape juice; these are likely to be more purple than blue.
Green Food Coloring
Spinach is a popular option for any recipes requiring a green hue. Most recipes call for juicing it, but it also imparts color if you toss a few whole leaves into the batter of whatever you’re making.15 Other options for green food coloring include liquid chlorophyll (find it at your nearest health food store), matcha powder, spirulina powder (also sold at health food stores), wheatgrass juice, and parsley juice.
Pink and Red Food Coloring
When it comes to dyeing foods pink and/or red, most sources agree that beets are the best option.16 They’re simple enough to incorporate into recipes as dye: simply use some of the liquid from canned beets, or boil or juice raw beets and use the resulting liquid. If you opt for the liquid from boiled beets, bring the beets to a boil before reducing the heat and simmer until the beets are tender; use the remaining liquid as a dye.17 Pomegranate juice or the liquid strained from pulverized raspberries are also good options, but they’re more likely to change the flavor of the recipe than beets.
Yellow and Orange Food Coloring
Golden beets and/or turmeric serve nicely as the basis for yellow food coloring.18 To make, follow these instructions from Studio DIY: Peel and dice the beet, then mix with ¼ cup of water and a teaspoon or two of turmeric. Soften the beets by microwaving the mixture for approximately 30 seconds; blend, strain, and use the resulting liquid as your dye. The juice from pulverized mangoes and saffron are also good options. If you choose saffron, be careful not to overpower other flavors in the dish. If you’re going for a slightly more orange hue, you can’t go wrong with carrot juice.
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bilderkinder ausmal commented
the food colors are great, like the free coloring pages at https://ausmalbilderkinder.de/disney/anna-und-elsa/