How to make food coloring: recipes. What and how do you make natural food dyes of red, yellow, orange, blue, purple, black, beige, white, green with your own hands?

This article describes how to make natural food coloring.

All industrial confectionery and other products in grocery stores contain a lot of chemical dyes. This can be seen if you look at the product ingredients label.

For a long time now, many housewives have been baking various pastries, cakes, cookies and other delicacies for their households and guests.
But how to decorate a product so that it is original and beautiful?
You can add homemade food coloring to creams, whipped cream and mastic.
It's very simple, read all the necessary information in this article.

How to make natural red food coloring with your own hands?

Cake with red fondant made from food coloring
Natural food coloring is made from the juice of vegetables and fruits. To do this, you need to squeeze the juice or simply boil the grated fruit in water. For example, to make natural red food coloring with your own hands, you will need 1 beetroot. Do the following:

Peel the beets.
Grate it on a grater board on a large section.
Place in a saucepan, add water so that it slightly covers the pulp of the vegetable, and turn on the gas.
Add a few drops of 9% vinegar, but no more than half a teaspoon.
Cook for 3 minutes - no more!
Strain through a strainer to remove the pulp. The juice is ready - it is a natural red food coloring.

Add this dye to creams or doughs to create a red tint.

Slice

Place the entire head of cabbage on a cutting board. Cut off the stem and throw it away immediately (don't hoard trash). Hold the cabbage head flat with one hand and use a large knife (like a chef's knife) to cut it into small pieces. You can use medium ones, but you can get more color from small fragments.

Did you know that red cabbage contains anthocyanin, a purple pigment that dissolves in water? Now you know.

How to make natural blue food coloring?

Cake with blue fondant from food coloring
Blue (purple) color is used when creating cakes or other confectionery products. Typically, confectioners paint mastic, which is used to make decorations for products. To make natural blue food coloring, you need to juice the following fruits and vegetables:

Black or purple grapes
Blueberry
Blackberry
Fresh blue cabbage
Frozen eggplant peel

To get the dye you need to do the following:

Grind the berries in a meat grinder, finely chop the cabbage and eggplant skin.
Then fill with water, put on gas for 3 minutes, add a few drops of 9% vinegar.
Strain and use to create a unique color.

Natural dye quickly turns sour. Therefore, it should only be done once and used within 2 days. It is better to store on the bottom shelf in the refrigerator, where the temperature is lower and the air is cooler.

Let's boil

We continue to pour from full to empty: fill a medium saucepan with purple water. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and cover with a lid. Boil the water (seriously) for 75 minutes. We wait until most of the water has evaporated and only about 1/2 of the mug remains. Please note that as the water evaporates, its color becomes more concentrated and bright.

How to make natural orange food coloring?

Orange fondant cake with food coloring
Orange paint is bright and juicy. A dough product decorated with this color will be appetizing and beautiful. To make natural orange food coloring, you will need carrots. To obtain it, follow these steps:

Grate the carrots on the large section of a grating board.
Melt the butter in a frying pan and then add the carrots. The proportion of carrots and oil is 1:1.
After 5-7 minutes, the carrots will soften and release juice. You can already use it.
Remove the pan from the stove and squeeze the juice out of the mixture through cheesecloth.

You can also get orange paint using orange zest. Do the same thing with this fruit as with carrots.

Table for obtaining pink shades

The final result is influenced by proportions. This table shows the most common options.

Colors	Proportions	Result
White and scarlet	2:1	Base tone
White, scarlet and brick	2:1:1	Peach
White, scarlet and purple	2:1:1	Fuchsia
White, scarlet and yellow	2:1:1	Cyclamen
White, scarlet and gray	2:1:1	Dirty tone
White, scarlet and blue	2:1:1	Lilac

How to make natural green food coloring?

Cake with green fondant with food coloring.
Green shades are natural and juicy. They are also used to color cream and mastic. To make natural green food coloring, you need to buy a bunch of spinach.

Scroll the greens through a meat grinder.
Transfer the pulp to a gauze napkin and squeeze out the juice. It can already be used as a paint for confectionery masses.

If you want to get a shade of green, but more intense, then simmer the juice of spinach leaves over a fire for half an hour.

Tinting acrylic paints

It is not always possible to tint paint yourself and obtain a truly high-quality result. In addition, if the area to be painted is large and there is not enough paint, it is almost impossible to repeat the shade exactly. Therefore, it is worth ordering paint tinting from professionals; this service is offered by any large hardware store.

The desired shade can be selected from the palette provided by the manufacturer, and the finished paint will have exactly the same tone. This option is more suitable for those who do not want to experiment with colors on their own; by paying a little extra, you can be sure of the result and the excellent quality of the paint!

How to make natural yellow food coloring?

Cake with yellow fondant with food coloring
Yellow is the color of the sun. Not a single cake or pastry decoration is complete without it. To make natural yellow food coloring, you need to buy saffron.

Grind this plant in a meat grinder or through a coffee grinder if it is dry, and dilute with a few tablespoons of warm water.
Can be diluted with vodka or alcohol, but with water 1:1.
After 24 hours, strain the infusion through cheesecloth.

If you want a less intense color, then grate the lemon zest and squeeze the juice out of it. Turmeric also gives the yellow color.

Making fun cocktails

There are many different blue cocktails and drinks, including Blue Lagoon and Blue Hawaii. To turn your drinks blue, add one to two tablespoons (15 to 30 ml) of blue food coloring to any clear or light-colored liquids (such as water, vodka, or even milk).

Many "blue" drinks use an alcoholic liqueur called "Blue Curacao" for the appropriate coloring, but you can use your own food coloring to make non-alcoholic versions instead. Because we are for a healthy lifestyle!

How to make natural beige food coloring?

Cake with beige fondant with food coloring
Beige is the color of naturalness. It can also be made from products and there is no need to use chemical dyes if you need to decorate the confectionery product. To make natural beige food coloring, confectioners use tomato paste. Depending on the shade, the amount of tomato is added to the mass. The more it is, the faster you will get a “dark beige”, closer to orange shades. Tomato does not affect the taste of the product.

Add baking soda

Measure out 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda and add to the colored water. Stir thoroughly until the baking soda is completely dissolved. A jacuzzi effect is possible, but the bubbles will disappear fairly quickly.

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Purple cabbage pigment reacts with acids and bases in various ways. In an acidic environment, anthocyanin becomes redder. But when you mix anthocyanin with an alkaline ingredient like baking soda, it turns blue.

How to make natural black food coloring?

Black and dark shades are also used to decorate individual parts. You can create this color dye at home - in your kitchen. To make natural black food coloring, the following products are used:

Black olives. They need to be grated and boiled in a small amount of water. Then strain and remove the pulp.
Dutch ultra cocoa . It contains a lot of chocolate and is therefore darker than regular cocoa.
Squid ink.

Use olives and cocoa powder to make dye for sweet dishes, and squid ink for lean and salty dishes.

Data numbering

Main article: Data numbering

ZD	Description
0	Ink bag
1	Red dye
2	Green dye
3	Cocoa beans
4	Lapis lazuli
5	Purple dye
6	Turquoise dye
7	Light gray dye
8	Gray dye
9	Pink dye
10	Lime dye
11	Yellow dye
12	Blue dye
13	Lilac dye
14	Orange dye
15	Bone flour
16	Black dye
17	Brown dye
18	Blue dye
19	White dye

How to make natural purple food coloring?

Purple fondant cake with food coloring
It was described above how to make natural blue or purple food coloring using blueberries, dark grapes or eggplant peels. Experiment and mix berry and vegetable juices to create different shades of purple or blue.

From paints and materials of various types

You can make pink from paints only using dyes from the same base. For example, watercolor paints are not mixed with oil paints, since different textures and thicknesses will not give the desired result and the mixture will turn out semi-liquid, with streaks and inclusions. Each type of paint has its own nuances during the mixing process.

Some paints can only be mixed mechanically by stirring them in a container by hand. Others can be layered using special techniques or an optical illusion technique where colors are simply placed close to each other.

Gouache

Achieving a pink gouache color is easy; these paints are easily mixed in pure form or with water. Gouache dries quickly, has no pronounced odor, and is suitable for most design work. Mix the pink color of gouache when the desired shade is not available or it has run out in the ready-made set of paints.

The gouache mixing process includes the following steps.

Prepare the necessary tools for mixing: paints, a palette, brushes, a draft and a container of water. It is recommended to work with gouache with soft semicircular brushes. The palette or surface for mixing paints is chosen to be white in order to track the change in shade. If paper is painted with gouache, then choose sheets with a rough surface.
The brush is dipped in water, then in paint. If you work with one brush, then wash it every time after working with different paints. If the gouache has dried, it is diluted to the desired state with water and stirred with a stick.
Red paint is applied to the palette first. Then a small amount of white paint and gradually mix them on the palette in the required proportion, which may change due to the thickness of the dye.
Lighten the gouache by adding white paint or water. Try not to mix too much white, it makes the tone too cold. Adding water reduces the richness of the mixture by 1-2 tones.
Darken the mixture by adding a drop of black, blue or purple. These colors absorb tone, so they are used carefully.
Add additional colors in small quantities to achieve the desired shade of pink. They try not to mix more than 3 colors so that the finished color does not have a dirty undertone.
They do a color test - apply a smear to the draft and wait for it to dry. Then compare the saturation of the stroke and the paint mixture. If necessary, add the desired colors.
When the desired shade is obtained, coloring begins. Gouache is applied with vertical, then horizontal strokes, without waiting for the layers to dry. If the previous layer was unsuccessful, a new layer can cover it if the paint is not heavily diluted with water.

Acrylic paints

You can make pink from acrylic-based paints by mixing red and white or other colors yourself. Acrylic paints are considered a universal bright dye that is suitable for most design work.

There are shades of pink on sale, included in ready-made paint sets or in separate jars or tubes. If the required shade is not in the set or it has run out, mix the paints.

This process occurs as follows.

A little red paint is applied to the palette.
Add a little more white. Mix both dyes thoroughly until smooth and even pink. If necessary, add a little of the desired color.
Lighten the mixture by adding more white paint. Try not to mix too much white, otherwise the color will turn out cold.
If you need to darken the color, add a little red, purple or blue.
Make a color test on the draft and check it with the paint mixture when the smear is dry. If necessary, add a little paint.
When the desired color is obtained, begin painting.

Watercolor

Pink color from watercolor paints is obtained by glaze method, mixing paints with water directly on paper or by mixing on a palette. Using the second method, you can achieve more complex shades of pink.

This method is suitable for beginners:

Prepare paints, a white palette, paper, and a container of water.
The brush is dipped in water, then in paint. After each new paint, the brush is thoroughly washed in water, so it is better to take a large container with water.
Apply red or carmine to the palette. Then they begin to add white paint and immediately stir thoroughly. Continue adding white until the desired tone is achieved.
If necessary, add additional colors, but try not to mix more than 3-4 colors at a time.
Check the finished tone on paper so that it does not lose saturation after drying. If necessary, add more paint as needed. Then they start painting when they have achieved the desired shade.

Oil paints

Achieving a pink tint by mixing oil paints is mechanically more difficult than with other dyes due to their thick consistency. Red and white paint are mixed on a palette with a brush or a special stick for a long time until completely homogeneous. Once an even pink color is achieved, a few additional colors are added to add richness or pallor to the shade.

There are other ways to create pink tones with oil paints that do not mix the dyes. Paints are applied immediately to the canvas in an even layer on top of each other or at a close distance to each other. These methods are suitable for those who have mastered glaze methods of mixing paints.

Pencils

It is impossible to obtain a pure color by mixing pencil colors due to the wax included in the composition, which prevents the pigments from mixing.

Artists use shading techniques to create an optical blending effect from the constituent colors:

Do shading, alternating the desired colors. All strokes are made with slight pressure and in one direction.
Alternate shading, placing each new color across the other.
Do close shading, drawing each line close to a different color.
Mix colors by painting a close point with composite colors. This method is used to paint all the necessary space.

When mixing colors, use only one type of pencil. The order in which the colors are shaded can affect the tone of the finished color. It is recommended to start from the lightest color, moving to darker ones. If necessary, all rows are repeated. When the desired shade is achieved, the color is smoothed with a finger, an eraser or a piece of paper.

Plasticine

Plasticine can be mixed, like other dyes, to create a new color.

The process takes longer due to the thick consistency of the mass.

Warm up a mass of white plasticine in your hands.
Start adding pieces of red plasticine.
Mix the colors until smooth, constantly folding the mixture.

Markers

To make pink from marker paints, mix red and zero marker. Instead of red, you can use fuchsia, violet or magenta, lightening them with a zero marker. Markers are applied to each other in a circular motion without waiting for drying. Do not combine more than 3 colors at the same time.

Mixing Natural Food Colorings: Rules

Cakes with fondant of different colors with food coloring
If you plan to work as a pastry chef at home - making confectionery products to order, then you will use a lot of food coloring every day. It can be stored in the refrigerator, but no more than 2 days, and you can mix already created shades to get new ones. For example:

The color of the sea is obtained by mixing blue and green.
Blue and all its shades - when mixing green and red.
Dark (black) shade - green, blue and red.
Pistachio - yellow and blue.

There are rules for mixing paints. They also work for mixing natural food colorings.

Rules for mixing colors

This circle shows what happens if you mix primary colors.

For example, when red and blue are dissolved, the result is purple.
When obtaining secondary and tertiary colors, you need to mix those colors indicated by the corners of the triangle of the secondary color.
For example, when you mix secondary green and primary yellow, you get tertiary - yellow-green.

It's simple: look for the dyes of the desired color in your refrigerator and mix them according to the rules of this circle to get the desired shade.

Characteristics and composition of pink color

Its main features:

not part of the primary color spectrum;
unsaturated, unlike its related red;
combines many similar tones.

Ingredients: white and red. When mixed with others, it ranges from berry (blue based) to salmon (orange based).

Shades are divided into subgroups:

light and warm;
light and cold;
medium warm;
medium cold;
pale;
bright.

Simple and complex shades of pink.

How to make brown natural dye at home?

Many novice confectioners think that brown dye at home is made only with cocoa. This ingredient can be used if you need to decorate a sweet cake or pastry.

But what if you need dye for a salty dish? You can use coffee. It must be brewed and strained through a sieve - the dye is ready.

Brown dye is also made from caramel:

Boil sugar with a little water in a ratio of 5:1.
Heat until mixture turns brown.
Then remove from heat and add some water.

Important: Do not burn the sugar so that the caramel does not taste bitter.

Mixing rules

You can make pink from different types of paints by mechanically mixing on a palette. In this case, the mixing time may differ if thick and oil-based paints are used, which require more thorough mixing.

The mixing scheme includes the following steps.

Red paint is applied to the palette.
Whitewash is applied nearby.
Little by little I begin to mix both dyes using a stick and stir until smooth. The paints are combined in portions so as not to spoil the mixture.
When you have obtained the base tone of pink, add a small amount of additional colors for a new shade.

You can make a pink color from paints by mixing red and white.
Follow the rules for mixing paints so that the process takes less time and the result is obtained the first time.

The amount of each dye depends on the desired tone, so several mixtures are tried on the draft.
Different paints are applied to the palette with different brushes so as not to mix pigments in jars or pans. If you use one brush, wash it thoroughly after each dye.
It is recommended to use a white palette to see the exact shade of paint mixtures.
The finished mixture of paints is tested on a rough drawing and wait until the smear dries - many paints lose their saturation when they dry.
Mix colors of only one type of paint (for example, only watercolor or only oil).
The initial red color can affect the final shade of pink.
Warm shades of pink are created by adding yellow and orange.
Pastel colors are made by adding a drop of blue to yellow.
Blue and purple paint is added carefully so that the pink does not turn out too dark. These colors make the tone cool, rich and dark.
Brown makes pink with a clayey tint.
A smoky effect is achieved by mixing pink tones with gray.

How to get pink natural dye?

Pink fondant cake with food coloring
Pink food coloring is one of the most popular dyes used to create cream and fondant with this shade. At the same time, the pink chemical dye is dangerous, as it can cause allergies or even bronchial asthma.

Make pink natural dye at home. You can get it from strawberries and raspberries. Scroll the berries through a meat grinder and squeeze out the juice. A more delicate shade will be obtained if the juice is boiled with water.

Getting different shades

Combination shades consist of 3 or more primary colors.

By adding a few contrasting drops to the red and white mixture, you can get unexpectedly interesting results.

Dirty pink

For production, scarlet, white and gray are used.

Hot pink

Coral, cyclamen, fuchsia - all these shades are called hot pink, but there are some differences between them. By mixing rich red with white, you can get sea coral by taking a little yellow - cyclamen. A drop of lilac gives a fuchsia tint.

Rules for mixing paints to obtain different shades of pink.

Pink-peach

Warm peach is obtained if you add brick.

Pink-lilac

This cheerful tone is formed by mixing pink and blue.

Other

With the help of brown, “pink clay” is obtained. Adding blue creates a cool pink mist effect. Gray will give the base a smoky, ashen tone.

What natural dye is best to use for cream, mastic, cake icing?

When creating cream, mastic and icing for cakes, it is important that these masses are uniform in texture and color. Therefore, it is better to use natural dye in liquid form. Vegetable or fruit juice or boiled liquid will help make the mass beautiful in color. It is worth noting that there are natural food colors that are used in food production in the preparation of various products. These include the following additives:

Food colorings

In addition, there are absolutely safe natural dyes. They can be divided into several types:

Gel - used for coloring creams, mastic and dough. Consists of glycerol and glucose.
Liquid - color the cream, help make inscriptions and drawings on the mastic using an airbrush.
Dry - diluted in boiled water. Used to color dough and cream.
Kendurin - allows you to achieve a pearlescent shade of cream, mastic or dragee. It consists of natural silicate, which gives this effect.

Accordingly, in addition to natural juices, gel, liquid, dry dyes and kendurin can be used to color creams, mastics and glazes.

Can you use brilliant green as food coloring?

Cake with green mastic
When you need to make a mastic mass or cream for a green-colored cake, in the summer it is easy to create it from the juice of spinach leaves. But what to do in winter, when this greenery is not available, and Easter is still far away, and food paints are not yet sold in stores? Can green paint be used as food coloring?

Remember: Zelenka is not a food product!

But many confectioners use a solution of brilliant green to color confectionery mixtures. Just add one drop of this product to get a rich green tint. This amount does not give off any foreign smell or taste.

Universal rules for mixing paints to get pink

To get bright or, conversely, subdued tones, you can “play” with colors. But there are universal rules.

Selecting red

The nature of red in the color scheme will affect the final result of the work performed. For example, bright scarlet will give a natural tone, brick red – peach, blood red – fuchsia.

Choosing the Basics

You can mix paints if they belong to the same group and have a homogeneous chemical composition.

The choice of incompatible ingredients leads to uneven distribution of materials, cracks, and delamination.

For example, if watercolor and acrylic paints interact with each other, then oil cannot be mixed with other bases.

Procedure

To avoid waste of materials and not to spoil them, mixing must be done in stages:

Prepare a spacious container so that the liquid can mix easily and freely.
Dilute part of the base with the required amount of the selected color, stir thoroughly. Cover a sample surface with the mixture and see how the composition behaves when dried.

If you are satisfied with the trial result, you can start coloring; if not, correction should be made.