Natural Food Coloring

After reading about artificial food coloring I have decided from now on that I either buy natural ones or make my own at home.  I found these ideas for making your own food coloring.  Check it out!

Natural food coloring you can make at home for frosting:
With 1 cup of frosting mix in the below ingredients......
1. Beet juice. It can be added to frosting for a rosy, pink hue.
2. Blueberries. Smash 14 of them, then drain the juice for a deep blue shade.
3. Both of the above: combine the two to create shades of purple.
4. Saffron. crush a tiny amount of saffron and let it brew in about two tablespoons of hot water.  You'll have a bright yellow, almost orange food coloring. 
4. Avocado. Smash half a small avocado, then combine with the frosting using a fork.  Be sure to add a few drops of lemon to preserve the color.
5. Chocolate. can be added to make a nice brown color.

Other ways of making food coloring:

• To make purple food coloring, all you need is one half of a big red-cabbage head. First, chop cabbage into big chunks and put them into a pot of boiling water. The amount of water should be just enough to cover the cabbage. After about an hour, the cabbage should lose its color while the water should turn dark purple. Remove from heat and let cool. Once it is completely cool, discard the cabbage (You can save the leftovers to put in soup or stew).
• Use dried hibiscus flowers. The process is very similar to what you do with the red cabbage. First, boil 1/2 cup of dried hibiscus with about 10 cups of water. Let it boil for about an hour. Remove from heat, strain and let cool. Creates a lovely red color. 
• To get a nice green......you probably have seen green tea cakes or ice cream before. Using green tea in desserts is a great way to enhance the look and fragrance. I've heard that some people sprinkle green tea powder over their salads as well. Green-tea potato salad, in particular, has become a kind of "fad food" among health-concerned foodies. You may also make green-tea pasta by boiling your pasta in a pot of brewed green tea.

Also check out this lovely site.......http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2010/03/colorful-baking-with-homemade-natural.html#  It's full of ideas on making your own food coloring. 

You can buy the store bought natural food dyes, but a lot of them are pretty pricey.  

Have fun creating!


http://organic.lovetoknow.com/Natural_Food_Coloring
http://www.re-nest.com/re-nest/food-and-cooking/4-natural-food-coloring-ingredients-083649
http://hubpages.com/hub/make-food-coloring
http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2010/03/colorful-baking-with-homemade-natural.html