Using food coloring is a fun way to bring a vibrant look to food, whether you want to add a little red to the Santa hat on the Christmas cake, create a yellow sun on the cupcake, or make a blue sea with your mashed potatoes. However, know that there are many other varieties of color, in addition to the three primary colors, and making different food colors can be a fun and easy way to add some sparkle to your plate.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Creating the Food Colors
Step 1. Be aware of the possible dangers of artificial colors in food
Some medical and scientific sources claim that artificial food colors can cause the risk of cancer or brain tumors, hyperactivity and behavioral problems in children.
- Food colors authorized at European level are marked with a numerical code preceded by the letter “E”; the most used are yellow (E100-E109), red (E120-E129), blue (E130-E139), green (E140-E149) and orange (E110-E119). These dyes can be added to foods and are still found in industrially processed foods, and are readily available commercially for home use.
- While the final choice of whether or not to use artificial colors in your food is entirely up to you, it is still important to be aware of the possible dangers associated with them and to make an informed decision as a consumer.
Step 2. Consider using organic food colors
There are several companies that produce natural and organic dyes starting from plant or food extracts; these are available in organic food stores and online as well.
- Keep in mind that most of these organic dyes should be tested to figure out which product generates the best result for your project, as some colors may not hold up to high temperatures.
- These naturally sourced dyes can also be quite expensive, so purchase a small trial amount before committing to large, expensive packaging.
Step 3. Make your own food coloring
While this is a more time-consuming solution initially, it is cost-effective and you are absolutely certain that the product comes from a natural source. Using fruit and vegetable juices like beetroot, pomegranate, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, as well as spices like cinnamon, turmeric and cocoa powder, you can make beautiful natural colors for your food. However, it is important to know the differences between natural dyes and artificial dyes, such as:
- Natural dyes are often more dull and muted than artificial dyes, as store-bought dyes are often concentrated and require only a few drops of color; in this way the consistency of the food does not change. Otherwise, with natural colors, you sometimes have to add large quantities of liquid that changes the consistency of the food. Thus, it is a little harder to get a real deep "red" using beet juice, the more likely you will be a light pink color, because most recipes can't handle the amount of liquid needed to get a true red. from beetroot.
- Since food dyes are derived from foods, foods that have been dyed with a very strong color are also changed in flavor. Therefore it is advisable to avoid using large quantities of homemade food colors, just to be sure that their taste does not overpower that of the food making it inedible. For example, a small amount of cinnamon can add a dark brown color, but, if you add a large amount, the only thing you can enjoy from that food will be cinnamon.
- Use powder products instead of juices when you can. For example, try to opt for beetroot powder, rather than juice, so that you get a nice deep red color, without having to add too much liquid to the dish.
- If you choose to use this method, you must purchase or have a juicer available.
Part 2 of 2: Mix the Food Colors
Step 1. Print a copy of the color wheel
This is the best help, so it may be useful to have a copy available that you can view when you are about to mix colors.
Step 2. Get the primary colors
These are: blue, red and yellow. You have to combine these colors together to get the secondary colors from which, in turn, you will get the tertiaries.
- Think of primary colors as if they were the parents of the family. When you blend two primary colors together you get three new shades called secondary colors, and you can imagine them as the "children" of the color family.
- When you mix a primary color and its closest secondary color that you see on the color wheel, you can create six new shades called tertiary colors. These can be seen as the "grandchildren" of the color family.
Step 3. Blend the primary colors to get the three secondary colors
Use three clean bowls to blend the colors together. Remember that if you are using artificial dyes, only a few drops are needed. If you are using natural ones instead, you may need to use larger amounts of each individual shade.
- Take the yellow and combine it with the red to create the orange.
- Take red and mix it with blue to create purple.
- Take blue and mix it with yellow to create green.
Step 4. Create your tertiary colors
Now that you've got the secondary colors, set up six more clean bowls to mix the colors and get the tertiaries.
- Take the yellow and combine it with the orange to get the yellow / orange.
- Take the red and combine it with the orange to get the red / orange.
- Take red and mix it with purple to get red / purple.
- Take blue and mix it with purple to get blue / purple.
- Take the blue and mix it with the green to get the blue / green.
- Take the yellow and mix it with the green to get the yellow / green.
Step 5. Create other shades, shades and intensities of colors
Now that you've got 12 basic colors, you can add more orange or red to get a certain shade of red, or add more purple or blue to bring out a certain shade of blue more. There are no limits to the colors you can create to make your food more interesting.
