Some varieties of beets are white or yellow on the inside, so make sure you choose red beets for this project.
Remember to be careful when you’re using a knife! Grip the knife with your dominant hand, then hold the vegetable securely with your non-dominant hand, curling your fingers inward like you’re making a claw. That way, if the knife slips, you’ll be less likely to cut yourself.
The more water you use, the longer you’ll have to cook the mixture to reduce down your food coloring.
Be careful not to burn yourself as the water is boiling! If you have to move the saucepan, use a pot holder, especially if the pan has a metal handle. If your stove settings are numbered from 1-10, medium-high heat is about a 6 or 7.
Medium-low heat is about a 3-4 on a scale of 1-10. To test whether the beets are tender, pierce them with a fork. If the fork slides through easily, the beets are ready.
Replace commercial food dye with about the same amount of your beet dye for desserts like red velvet cake or to dye buttercream frosting for decorating cakes, cupcakes, and cookies! Be careful pouring your dye, as the beets and the liquid will be very hot! If the saucepan has a metal handle, use a pot holder when you pick it up. If you don’t have a strainer, line a colander with a coffee filter and pour the liquid through that, instead. The coffee filter will help catch any beet pieces that would be small enough to slip through the holes in the colander.
Keep in mind that the beet juice may dye the container you’re using, especially if it’s made of plastic.
If you purchase commercially-produced pomegranate juice, ensure that it’s free of any other additives, as this will probably dilute the final color. Depending on the concentration of the juice, you’ll probably need to use a little more pomegranate juice than you would food dye. If you need a more concentrated color, try reducing the juice in a saucepan on the stove.
Berries will produce a much lighter color than commercial food coloring, and they add a strong fruit flavor to your food. You may have better results if you keep the flavor in mind as you’re adding the berries to your dish, rather than the final color. This food coloring is best used in desserts that will complement a berry flavor. For instance, if you use raspberries to color cake icing, it would probably pair nicely with chocolate cake.
You can often find dried hibiscus flowers in stores that specialize in Mexican, Indian, or Latin American ingredients. They may be labeled as sorrel or flor de Jamaica. [8] X Research source If you can find hibiscus herbal tea with no added ingredients, you can steep that to get red food dye, as well. However, depending on the color of the flowers that were used in the tea, the result may be more pink or orange, rather than red. Use a similar amount of this dye as you would if you were using commercial dye. The color may be a little lighter, so add more if needed.
