Alright, so I decided to mess around with making my own oil-based natural food coloring the other day. Been wanting to try this for a while, you know, trying to use less of the artificial stuff, especially when working with things like chocolate or frostings where water-based colors just don’t mix right.
First up, I needed my color sources. I figured powders would be the easiest way to go, less water content to worry about. I had some beetroot powder already in the pantry, so that was my red. For yellow, I grabbed the turmeric. Green was a bit of a guess, I used some matcha powder I had, hoping it would be strong enough. Didn’t have anything good for blue on hand this time.
Then, the oil. I just used a basic sunflower oil because it’s pretty neutral in flavor and color. Didn’t want anything too strong tasting. I measured out small amounts, maybe half a cup of oil for each color to start.
My process was pretty straightforward. I took a small saucepan for each color – yes, it meant more washing up later. Poured the oil in, then added about a tablespoon of the powder to each pan. Kept the heat really low. You don’t want to fry the powder, just gently warm it through to get the color to leach into the oil. I just stirred it constantly for maybe 10-15 minutes. The turmeric one smelled strong, obviously.
After heating and stirring, I took the pans off the heat and just let them sit there for a good hour or so. Let things cool down and hopefully get a bit more color infused.
Straining the Mix
This was the part I figured might get messy. I got out some small jars and funnels. Lined the funnels with a couple of layers of cheesecloth. Then, carefully, I poured the oily mixtures through the cheesecloth into the jars. Had to squeeze the cloth a bit at the end to get the last drops of colored oil out. The powders stayed behind in the cloth, mostly.
- The beetroot gave a decent, earthy red color. Not super bright, but definitely red.
- Turmeric produced a really vibrant yellow, that was the best result.
- The matcha gave a subtle green. Not as strong as I hoped, maybe needed more powder or a different green source next time, like spinach powder perhaps.
So, I ended up with three little jars of colored oil. Cleaned them up, put lids on tight, and stuck them in the cupboard. I figure keeping them in a cool, dark place is best. Haven’t used them in a big project yet, just tested a drop in some melted white chocolate, and they mixed in smooth, which was the main goal. It’s definitely not the same as the super-intense store-bought stuff, but it works, and I know exactly what’s in it. Was a simple enough process, worth doing if you want a natural option for fatty things.
