Healthy Hotspot

· 02 Jul 2022

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Natural Food Coloring

Imagine your food being black and white! Or other dull colors like Muddy Gray! Will you be tempted to eat them? Most people would not. Sight is very important to us humans and that is a fact that has been known since ancient times. Early civilizations added color to their diet and that is very natural. The people of ancient Egypt made their food yellow saffron. Wines were also dyed in 400 B.C.E. using only saffron. The Romans enriched their white bread by mixing alum with flour. There are many other examples from the history of food coloring that we will discuss later in this article to help you know how to use natural food colors but before we know that, we need to know what modern food colors are and how we eat them. ?

Modern Food Colors

Today our food processing industry uses a wide variety of food colors, the main ones being - Food Dyes and Lake Food Colors. Not only food items but pharmaceutical products, cosmetics, inks, plastic food containers etc are also colored with these synthetic colors. So when you have those colored vitamin pills or use that lipstick, you are eating these artificial food colors. Not only are synthetic food pigments used in processed foods and other substances, many organic lake pigments are also widely used in food coloring, due to environmental health awareness! These organic colors in the lake are found in natural sources. Some examples of such food colors in the living pool include caramel, turmeric, beet and berry juice, paprika, saffron etc.

Natural Food Colors

As I promised earlier, I will now introduce you to how all natural food colors were historically used to make food interesting and enjoyable. In fact, in Europe there was a widespread belief during the early Renaissance that color in food not only reflected its nutritional value, but also indicated the healing power connected to spiritual, heavenly things. For example, eating sweet red grapes was considered successful in having rich blood, black foods such as peppers or melancholy-induced molds, and gold-colored foods promoted divine healing in the sun!

Turnsole - or folium was a dyestuff prepared from the annual plant Crozophora tinctoria ("dyers' crook carrier," from its use and the curved head of the flower spike).
Turmeric - a bright yellow color made from the roots of the herb Curcuma longa. It is an ancient Indian spice and a traditional remedy that has been used as a medicine. Turmeric is still used in the preparation of daily meals in Indian homes.
Red Pepper - Paprika oleoresin is extracted from the pod of sweet red peppers. Capsicum year is called Paprika. Paprika gives a bright orange color to a reddish-orange color in food products.
Red sandalwood - Sandal wood bark is dark brown in color and produces a deep red juice when cut. It is a source of bright red dye. It is used in Ayurvedic medicine as an anti-septic, wound healing agent, and acne treatment. Redwood as a natural food coloring has extensive use of cosmetics, as well as coloring agents in tinctures.
Saffron - Saffron is an Asian spice, as 80% is now produced in countries such as Iran, Spain, Greece and Morocco. The gourd could be used not only for its yellow and orange color but also for its delicious aroma!
Marigold, safflower, parsley, spinach, fruit, and flower petal extracts were some of the natural colors of healthy food compared to synthetic food colors.