8 very natural homemade food colorings

Food enters through the eyesThis is why so many colorants are used in the food industry to make processed products more appetizing that would otherwise look duller and not so appetizing. The colors of the vegetables, legumes and fruits that we buy are given by a series of pigments that can also be used to make dyes and dye our preparations making them more striking.

When we prepare all the meals at home starting from raw materials, we also add colourings, consciously or without realizing it, as in paellas or stews.

I briefly explain some of the most used food colorings and how to extract and use them at home to obtain vibrant colors for any food.

green dye

1. Chlorophyll (E-140)

It is responsible for the green color of many plants (also algae), essential in photosynthesis. Any green vegetable contains chlorophyll. among other pigments, hence the different shades between, for example, a chard leaf and a kale leaf.

Chlorophyll in general holds up fairly well to almost all kitchen conditions, although can degrade and become more brown if we subject it to prolonged cooking.

It is soluble in water and in fats.

How to prepare it

It is difficult to extract only chlorophyll at home to use as a pigment. Instead what we can do is use green leafy vegetables that do not have a very strong flavor and turn them into a green concentrate that can be used in any preparation, be it sweet or salty.

The vegetables of choice are usually spinach. They have a weak structure and break down quickly, turning the entire cooking liquid green.

Boil a good handful of fresh spinach (washed and cut) with twice the volume of water, until they are almost melted. Beat it with the mixer for 2-3 minutes, until there are no pieces left, and return the mixture to the heat ( over low heat) until it reduces ¼ of its volume, approx. If you want a powerful and concentrated colouring, strain the liquid through a cloth strainer and keep the paste that settles in the strainer. The green broth also serves as a coloring, as long as you replace the water in your recipe with this liquid. If you don’t mind making a less elaborate coloring, just keep the shake result and use it.

you can add other green leafy vegetables if you want, for a different effect or a more delicate flavor: watercress, parsley, cabbage and turnip tops are also good options.

2. Spirulina

Spirulina powder also works as a dye. It is not one of the cheapest but being in concentrated powder spreads enough if you only want it to give color at the end of a cream (vichyssoises and the like), for homemade cookies and things like that.

3. Seaweed

For savory dishes Other seaweeds such as wakame (boil, beat and reduce) or nori (roast and grind) can be used, which have a much more pronounced flavor as well as good amounts of salt.

4. Matcha green tea

Provides a more intense green color when used in preparations with plenty of liquid. If you spend too much it can be bitter. It holds the heat very well and it is not necessary to make any infusion with it, just add it directly to our mixtures and doughs.

orange and yellow dyes

5. Carotenes (E-160a)

These pigments are best known for giving their characteristic color of carrots. They are found in more red, orange, and yellow colored foods, such as tomatoes, oranges, apricots, and bananas.

There are many types of carotenoidsand all of them are usually found together in carrots:

He β-carotene is one of them, precursor of the Vitamin A.Another is the lutein, which is not exclusive to eggs, is found mainly in leafy green vegetables. It is lipid soluble and more yellow than orange in color. zeaxanthins they are redder and responsible for the main colors of paprika and goji berries, although they are also found in vegetables as different as romaine lettuce or spinach.

How to prepare carrot powder

Extract carotenes at home to use them as coloring is not an easy task, but we can make carrot powder instead.

To do this, wash and peel 4-5 large carrots (or 5-6 medium ones), cut them into very very thin slices (almost transparent) or into strips with a peeler or grater. Dehydrate them completely in a dehydrator, in the oven (80ºC, a few hours, depending on the amount and water they contain) or in a frying pan (minimum heat, without oil, without covering). Once completely dry, grind them with a mill, sift the powder and grind the excess again so that it is a powder fine fine. Store it in a tightly closed container away from moisture.

This carrot powder will give yellow-orange color in addition to a very pleasant taste of carrots, without adding more body, moisture or weight to the dough or to what we are preparing (for example homemade pasta, a risotto, cookies, biscuits, etc).

Carotenes are very stable to heat and acid conditions, so you won’t have a discoloration problem in any dish.

6. Annato (E-160b)

It is the orange-yellow dye that It is extracted from the seeds of annatto or achiote, which is a subtropical tree. The annatto, powder of the pericarp of these seeds, contains bixinwhich is its fat-soluble part, and norbixin, which is the water-soluble part. Both are apocarotenoidsa type of carotenoid like the one that gives color to saffron or medlar.

You can find bags and jars of achiote seeds in Latino storesFor example.

The color that the achiote provides it is very stable when subjected to heatso we can use it as a coloring in preparations that have to go through a cooking process: rice (paellas, pilafs, risottos…), pâtés, spreads… anything that seems unappetizing to you because it is pale can have a touch of achiote.

To extract the dye at home, just grind a handful of seeds with a coffee grinder or crush them into a powder in a mortar. Use this powder later to give color to your preparations.

Depending on the amount, it may be darker, orange, or more yellow (turmeric type).

The achiote in addition to color it also has flavor: a bit like peppery, nutmeg, slightly sweet and nutty. Keep this in mind before adding large amounts.

7. Curcumin (E-160)

It is extracted from turmeric, a rhizome used as a dye and as a spice in many regions of South and Southeast Asia. It is stable to most conditions (light, heat, high or low pH) and also works as an antioxidant.

You can find turmeric powder in any supermarketin small powdered jars, and the whole root in some greengrocers.

Red colorant

8. Betanin (E-162)

Is he vibrant red food coloring of the beets. The dye is obtained from beetroot juice extractis concentrated and used as a colorant for sweets, drinks and frozen, refrigerated or that do not need cookingsince it is not very resistant to certain conditions of heat and pH but together with sugar it is much more stable.

At home it is difficult to isolate only this dye. Even if we dehydrated the juice, as it quickly degrades on contact with oxygen from the air and light, we would be left with a brown powder.

Betanins aren’t the only pigment beets contain. They also have other betalains like betaxanthins (yellow-orange), which together create that red-magenta color of the roots.

The pigments of beets are sensitive to the pH of the medium (the more acid, the more purple), and the temperature, so sometimes cakes and muffins made with beets are more brown than red. This can be partly avoided by adding more acidic ingredients (cream of tartar, lemon, etc).

How to use

Since we cannot easily extract a concentrated dye with only betanins, what we can do is use your own beetroot.

For a concentrated beetroot broth, cook them whole, with just enough water and a few drops of lemon or vinegar. Then beat them with the mixer and, if necessary, add a little of the cooking water, until you get the cream you want to use.

It will take very little to stain any preparation. In the case of salty dishes such as rice, sauces, creams, etc., add it preferably at the end of cooking to avoid color degradation.

Also you can do as in the case of the carrot, dry and grind. This powder can be used just like, for example, paprika. With little amount you get a lot of color. Of course, it degrades quickly, so keep it in a tightly closed container, preferably in the fridge.