Nature often has a solution to many of our problems. And we're not just talking about home remedies and traditional cooking 'hacks.' Along with essential nutrients, flavours, and textures, Nature's bounty also includes beautiful colours. Some of these can actually be extracted at home and used to brighten up foods and drinks in unique ways. Icing, milk-based drinks, pasta and many other items can be coloured with the help of these natural sources. Allow us to briefly introduce you to some of the ingredients that can be used for getting natural food colouring:
Also Read: Baking Tips: How To Ice A Cake Perfectly
Here Are 5 Common Ingredients That Can Be Used To Naturally Colour Food
1. Turmeric
Even a little bit of turmeric or haldi can lend foods and drinks a lovely yellow colour.
Turmeric can be used to give foods a stunning yellow colour. The shade can be as light or dark as you want, but remember that turmeric has a strong flavour. So a concentrated colour might just come with an overpowering taste of turmeric. Instead, opt for small quantities of this everyday spice to colour your foods and drinks. In case you're using it to make sweet treats and don't want its flavour to stand out, add extra essence of vanilla, almond or any other kind to bring some balance.
Also Read: Kitchen Hacks: 5 Substitutes To Replace Vanilla Extract In Your Baking
2. Saffron
Have you ever wondered what gives biryani rice its lovely yellowish tinge? You can thank saffron for that. Saffron also lends a distinctive flavour to foods, and you can capitalise on that while making a wide variety of sweet as well as savoury delicacies. Rice, milk, cream and other whitish foods are your best bet for colouring with saffron. Since it is often used in extremely small quantities, other foods and ingredients may easily mask its colour and taste.
3. Beetroot
Beetroot can be used for making foods and drinks pink. Photo Credit: Pixabay
Love all things pink? Then you may want to use beetroot extract to colour your foods as well. Beetroots have a wonderfully strong natural colour - as you may have observed while handling it once cut/ grated. Its reddish tinge turns pink once it is used specifically as a food colouring. You can use it to colour many kinds of treats, including cake icing, pasta, drinks and much more.
4. Rose Petals
Rose petals are another great natural source for pink and reddish shades. You can use it in the form of powder or syrup. Most of us are familiar with readymade versions of rose syrup, which are specially used for making a number of cooling summer drinks. You can also easily prepare this syrup at home, and use it to colour (and flavour) your foods and beverages. Click here for the recipe.
5. Spinach
Photo Credit: Pixabay
Want to purposely give food items a green colour? Then spinach can come to your rescue. You have to first cook spinach leaves, puree them and strain them to extract the natural green juice. This can then be stored in a refrigerator for a few weeks and used as needed. Spinach doesn't have a very strong flavour and thus you can experiment with it more.
These are just some of the ingredients that are used to make natural food colours. Carrots, coffee, blueberries, cabbage, etc. can also be used in similar ways. Have you ever tried making food colouring in this way? Let us know in the comments below.