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Food Coloring from Cabbage

@arecipe.bsky.social

This homemade food coloring is prepared from red cabbage. Because red cabbage pigment is pH-sensitive, it starts out purple but turns pink when combined with acid and blue when combined with alkaline substances.

Total 00:30
Yield 1 cup (280 g)

Ingredients

  • 1 small red cabbage, chopped
  • 1 cup water
  • ¾ cup (150 g) white granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon lemon juice, plus extra for pink color
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda (for blue color)

Instructions

  1. 1
    Blend cabbage and water in a food processor.
  2. 2
    Using a cheesecloth, strain the puree into a bowl to extract the juice.
  3. 3
    Pour the juice into a pan and add sugar.
  4. 4
    Turn the heat to medium-high, and stir to dissolve the sugar.
  5. 5
    Skim off and discard any foam that collects at the surface of the liquid.
  6. 6
    Turn the heat to high and boil until the liquid reduces to a single-thread consistency.
  7. 7
    Turn off the heat and stir in the lemon juice and vanilla.
  8. 8
    If you want to color the mixture pink, stir in additional lemon juice, 1 teaspoon at a time. If you want to color it blue, stir in the baking soda.
  9. 9
    Cool slightly, then pour into an airtight jar.
Category
Beverages
Method
Baking

Recipe Attribution

Wikibooks Cookbook
en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cookbook:Food_Coloring_from_Cabbage