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4 Natural Food Coloring Ingredients

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Want colorful cupcakes, but hate to use artificial food coloring? Here are 4 natural ingredients that ensure your baked goods taste as good as they look...

 
 


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. Tumeric powder. A teaspoon of this and you've got the perfect shade of yellow.
4. Avocado. Smash half a small avocado, then combine with the frosting using a fork.

Yum!

image: via stock xchang

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food and cooking

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Comments (8)

I forget exactly what tumeric tastes like, but wouldn't it be kinda nasty in frosting?
Same for the Avacado.

posted by Rolen the Great on May 4th 2009 at 2:23pm
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I'd be scared to add more than a pinch of turmeric to frosting... it's kind of earthy-tasting. Avocado, however, is frequently used in South Asian ices and smoothies, and I wouldn't be afraid to use that in frosting... and you know, it's got that high-antioxidant fat in it, adding richness that's good for you... my worry is that it would brown.

Bring on the beet juice, though.

posted by whytephoenix on May 4th 2009 at 3:15pm
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Seems like a few drops of lemon juice in the avocado version would be a must to prevent browning... I sampled an avocado gelato the other day and while I didn't love it, it wasn't icky either.

posted by jm chen on May 5th 2009 at 8:08am
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Avocado flavor is very mild and would definitely be overpowered by the sugar in the frosting. In fact, Alton Brown makes an avocado frosting using the avocado as the fat. I saw him do it in a demo and a 6 year old kid from the audience gave it a thumbs up for taste.

The turmeric seems like it would be problematic to me too, though. Has anybody tried this?

posted by digigirl on May 5th 2009 at 8:43am
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i'd use saffron instead of turmeric.

crush a tiny amount of saffron and let it brew in about two tablespoons of hot water.

you'll have bright yellow, almost orange food coloring!

much better tasting than turmeric too!

posted by cravethemind on May 10th 2009 at 2:53am
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Thanks for this! I've never tried the blueberries or avocado. I often use tumeric, as it does make a nice yellow shade that deepens as it sits. The trick is to not ice a WHOLE cake with it.

posted by kimpayne on February 1st 2010 at 9:31am
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my father-in-law (filipino) eats avocados with sugar. i've never tasted it before, but i think it would be light and tasty in frosting. i do worry about browning, too.

another option for getting green would be to use matcha green tea powder. it's available in most japanese or other asian markets. i've made matcha cupcakes and it's very good!

i haven't tried the other ideas in cupcake frosting, but i've used beet juice to make a pink potato salad. i'm very curious to try them all out! thanks for the ideas! ;)

posted by analiliav on February 1st 2010 at 12:56pm
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I've used several of these many times. Turmeric is a great yellow but a teaspoon is a ridiculous amount! I use a few pinches for a whole batch of frosting. It makes it a lovely yellow and it's not noticeable at all. It's the same with beet juice -- add a little and it's completely hidden. I've also used fruit juice concentrates like grape and cherry. You can reduce them on the stove to make them more concentrated or just add less liquid. Obviously, chocolate makes a great brown too.

As for the avocado, I've heard of it being used in ice cream and other sweets a lot and I think it might be really good (and super healthy). I'd try it ahead of time to be sure though. :)

BTW, it can be easier IME to use fruits to add color instead of trying to make a whole lot of colored frosting colors. For instance, use slices of strawberries and kiwis to make patterns, blueberries for dots and so on.

posted by MagicalChildhood on February 5th 2010 at 3:24am
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