When it comes to adding a splash of color to your culinary creations, turning to nature is a fantastic choice. Instead of relying on artificial dyes, you can easily create vibrant and beautiful hues using ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen. Especially if you are thinking about what Food To Make for a special occasion like a birthday cake or decorated cookies, natural food coloring is the perfect way to elevate your dishes while keeping them wholesome. Let’s dive into the best tips and recipes for making your own natural food coloring at home.
Pro Tips for Natural Food Coloring
1) Choose the Source of Color.
The beauty of natural food coloring lies in its source – real food! You can find color inspiration everywhere, from your pantry to your refrigerator. Many ingredients can be transformed into stunning food dyes. Here are some of the best sources for achieving different colors. (Note: Ingredients used in this guide are in italics.)
- Pink: strawberries, raspberries
- Red: beets, tomato
- Orange: carrots, paprika, sweet potato
- Yellow: saffron, turmeric
- Green: matcha, spinach
- Blue: red cabbage + baking soda
- Purple: blueberries, purple sweet potato
- Brown: coffee, tea, cocoa
- Black: activated charcoal, squid Ink
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2) Consider the Flavor Profile.
One unique aspect of natural food colors, setting them apart from commercial alternatives, is their inherent flavor. Since these colors are derived from actual food ingredients, a subtle hint of their taste will remain in your final icing or dish. The more natural food coloring you incorporate, the more pronounced this flavor will become. For ingredients like fruit, matcha, coffee, or cocoa, this flavor contribution can be complementary and even desirable in baking. However, for stronger flavored sources like squid ink or spinach, it’s something to consider carefully, especially when deciding what food to make.
3) Set Realistic Color Expectations.
Natural food colorings, while beautiful, won’t achieve the same intense vibrancy as artificial dyes. It’s important to embrace this difference from the start. Your reds might be softer, not a stark, bright red, but they will possess unique, charming tints. The secret to maximizing color vibrancy is to begin with the most concentrated base possible. While you might not replicate the hyper-saturated colors of commercial dyes, the aim with DIY colorings is to achieve the richest, most opaque hues you can, resulting in the best visual impact for your food to make.
4) Powder vs. Liquid Bases: Understanding the Difference.
There are primarily two methods for creating homemade food colorings: using powders and concentrated liquids. Powders often present the easiest route, as they readily dissolve and are already somewhat concentrated. This inherent concentration can lead to more vibrant and impactful colors. Many fruits and vegetables are available in powdered form, or you can easily make your own by freeze-drying fruits and vegetables and then pulverizing them into a fine powder using a food processor or spice grinder. Ingredients like cocoa, coffee, tea, and certain spices naturally exist in powdered form and can be directly added to frosting. Depending on the specific ingredient, this direct addition might sometimes result in slight clumping. To prevent this, consider dissolving them in a minimal amount of liquid (like milk or water) beforehand.
The alternative method involves creating a concentrated liquid. This liquid base can be pure juice, a strained purée, or a water-based infusion. If you own a juicer, it’s an excellent tool for producing the purest liquid, which you can then reduce to the desired consistency. Purées are also effective, although they might contain some solids (which can be strained out), leading to a slightly thicker final liquid. For blueberry-based coloring, creating a purée involves simmering blueberries, puréeing them with an immersion blender, and then straining the mixture. The water infusion method, while perhaps not as potent, is useful for extracting color from ingredients that require infusion, like saffron (infusing saffron threads in warm water). Regardless of the liquid base method you choose, reduction is a crucial step. Reducing the liquid by simmering off excess water concentrates the color effectively, ensuring you achieve the most intense shade possible and minimize excess liquid that could alter the consistency of your recipe. Aim to reduce liquids until you have about 1/4 cup remaining for optimal concentration when making food to make colorful.
Photo by Mark Weinberg
5) The Role of Heat.
Typically, natural food colorings are best used in cold applications, such as tinting frostings, icings, and glazes. While many of these colorings can successfully tint baked goods like cookie dough or cake batter, it’s important to be aware that heat can be a factor. Exposure to heat can sometimes alter these natural colors, causing them to become duller or more brownish. Therefore, it’s generally recommended to allow your homemade food colorings to cool completely before incorporating them into any recipe to preserve their intended hue and vibrancy when you make food to make.
6) Frosting First, Decorate After!
Once your natural food colorings are prepared, the final step is to incorporate them into a simple frosting or icing. Similar to traditional food colorings, it’s best to add the natural color gradually, in small increments, until you achieve your desired shade. Remember that you can typically add more powdered coloring compared to liquid coloring without significantly affecting the consistency of your frosting.
Natural colorings are particularly wonderful for tinting royal icing, which is perfect for decorating cookies. Consider using them to decorate sugar cookies for any holiday or celebration. You can use a flooding technique for a smooth base, or add simple patterns like dots or stripes for visual interest. For dots or stripes, adding them while the flooded icing is still wet will result in a flat design once dried. Adding them after the base layer has dried will create a more textured effect. For an even more artistic touch, explore marbling techniques to create truly stunning and unique cookie decorations, making your food to make even more impressive.
Natural Food Coloring Recipes
Photo by Mark Weinberg
Pink
For a delicate pink, add 1 to 2 teaspoons of strawberry powder for every 1 cup of royal icing. To minimize clumping, you can dissolve the powder in 1 to 2 tablespoons of water before adding it to your icing. If you’re looking for inspiration beyond icing, consider pink glazes on soft yogurt cookies with raspberry glaze for another delightful pink treat.
Red
Achieve a soft red hue by adding 1 to 2 teaspoons of beet powder per 1 cup of royal icing. Similar to the pink coloring, dissolving the beet powder in 1 to 2 tablespoons of water beforehand can help prevent clumps and ensure a smooth consistency in your food to make.
Orange
For a natural orange shade, incorporate 1 to 2 teaspoons of carrot powder for each cup of royal icing. Dissolving the carrot powder in a small amount of water (1 to 2 tablespoons) before mixing it into the icing will help prevent clumps and ensure a smooth, even color distribution.
Yellow
To create a sunny yellow, bring 1 cup of water and a small pinch (about 1/8 teaspoon) of saffron threads to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat and let steep for 15 minutes. Strain the mixture, return it to the pot, and reduce to 3 to 4 tablespoons. Transfer to a small jar to cool completely. Add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of this yellow color for every 1 cup of royal icing to achieve a lovely yellow tint in your food to make.
Green
For a natural green, add 1 to 2 teaspoons of matcha powder to every 1 cup of royal icing. You have the option to dissolve the matcha in 1 to 2 tablespoons of water before adding it to the icing, which can help create an even smoother texture and color.
Blue
To make a blue food coloring, combine 2 cups of shredded red cabbage and 1 1/2 cups of water in a small pot. Simmer over medium heat until it reaches a simmer. Remove from heat and let steep for 15 minutes. Strain the mixture, return the liquid to the pot, and reduce it to 3 to 4 tablespoons. The magic happens when you stir in a tiny pinch of baking soda – the color will transform from purple to blue! Transfer to a jar and let it cool completely before using to color your food to make. Use 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of this blue coloring per 1 cup of royal icing.
Purple
Create a vibrant purple by combining 2 cups of blueberries and 1/4 cup of water in a small pot. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and simmer until the berries burst and soften. Use a potato masher to gently mash the berries, then strain the liquid, discarding the solids. Return the juice to the pot and simmer again to reduce it to 1/4 cup. Transfer to a jar and cool completely. Add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of this purple color to 1 cup of royal icing to get a beautiful purple shade in your food to make.
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Royal Icing and Natural Food Colorings
View Recipe
](/recipes/41891-royal-icing-and-natural-food-colorings)
Ingredients
| 6 | cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted |
|---|---|
| 5 | ounces egg whites |
| 6 | cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted |
|---|
| 5 | ounces egg whites |
|---|
A Few Desserts to Get Started
Natural food coloring offers a delightful way to add both color and subtle flavor to a wide range of desserts. You can start with baked goods that already feature a simple white frosting, such as royal icing or buttercream, or you can add your own frosting to other treats. Don’t limit yourself to just frostings and glazes! Whipped toppings and even plain ice cream are excellent canvases for natural food coloring, expanding the possibilities of what food to make vibrant and fun.
Sugar Cookies With Buttercream Frosting
To enhance the brightness of your buttercream frosting right from the start, consider omitting vanilla bean seeds or vanilla extract. This simple step will allow your chosen natural food color to truly shine and stand out, making your food to make even more visually appealing.
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Sugar Cookies With Buttercream Frosting
](/recipes/82253-sugar-cookies-with-vanilla-frosting)
Sweet-Cream Ice Cream
By skipping vanilla bean and extract in your sweet cream ice cream base, you create a perfect blank slate, both in flavor and color. This allows you to color it any shade you desire with natural food colorings. This is especially fun for making colorful ice cream cakes, providing endless creative options for what food to make.
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Alice’s Vanilla Ice Cream 2.0
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Chocolate Donut Holes
To make these chocolate donut holes even more decadent and visually interesting, experiment with a cocoa or coffee glaze, colored naturally. Matcha glaze would also be a delicious and visually striking option, offering unique flavor and color combinations for your food to make.
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Chocolate Donut Holes (Munchkins)
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Anything Plus Yogurt Whipped Cream
Whether it’s a slice of rich pound cake or a decadent hot fudge ice cream sundae, most desserts can be elevated with a generous dollop of yogurt whipped cream. But instead of keeping it plain white, why not transform it into pastel pink, orange, or green using natural food colorings? This simple addition can dramatically enhance the visual appeal of almost any food to make.
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Yogurt Whipped Cream
](/recipes/36877-yogurt-whipped-cream)
Saffron & Chocolate Tea Cake
To amplify the sunny, golden hue of this saffron tea cake, consider a glaze made with saffron, turmeric, or carrot powder. These slightly savory flavor notes create a delightful contrast to the sweetness of the chocolate, adding depth and complexity to your food to make.
[
Saffron & Chocolate Tea Cake
](/recipes/82122-saffron-chocolate-tea-cake-recipe)
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What’s your favorite color scheme? Let us know in the comments!
