Okay, so today I want to talk about making my own natural food coloring. I was getting kind of tired of all the artificial stuff you find in stores. Plus, I heard that some of those dyes might not be so great for you, health-wise. So I thought, why not try making my own?
First, I did some digging around to see what kinds of ingredients I could use. Turns out, there’s a whole bunch of fruits, veggies, and spices that can give you some pretty vibrant colors. Think beets for red, spinach for green, turmeric for yellow, and so on. I decided to start with a few basics.
I grabbed some beets, spinach, and blueberries from my fridge. I figured those would give me a good range of colors to play with. Then, I got to work chopping and blending. I boiled the beets until they were soft, then threw them in my blender to make a puree. For the spinach, I just blended it raw with a little bit of water. And the blueberries, I smashed them up with a fork to get the juice out.
- Beets for red
- Spinach for green
- Blueberries for purple
Next, I strained each mixture through a cheesecloth to get rid of any pulp or seeds. I wanted a nice, smooth liquid for the coloring. This part took a little bit of time, but it was worth it to get a clean final product.
Experimenting with different shades
Once I had my basic colors, I started experimenting with different shades. I added more or less water to adjust the intensity. I also tried mixing some of the colors together. For example, I mixed the beet juice with the blueberry juice to get a deeper purple. It was kind of like being a mad scientist in the kitchen!
Finally, I tested out my natural food coloring in some recipes. I made some frosting and used the beet juice to make it pink. It turned out really pretty, and it tasted great too! I also used the spinach coloring in some mashed potatoes to make them a fun green color. My kids loved it!
Overall, it was a pretty fun and rewarding experience making my own natural food coloring. It’s a bit more work than just buying the stuff from the store, but I think it’s worth it. You know exactly what’s going into your food, and you can feel good about using ingredients that are actually good for you. Plus, it’s just fun to experiment and see what kinds of colors you can create. It’s not perfect. And the colors are not as bright as those made in the lab. I know that natural food colors originate from a wide range of sources like vegetables, fruits, spices. And if you ask me what natural food is, I would say the food that doesn’t have artificial colors. I’d definitely recommend giving it a try!
