Learn the science behind:
What would food be like without color? Pretty bland for sure. Also, it would be very hard to determine whether food is good or has gone bad, whether it’s ripe or whether it’s sour or sweet. We use color a lot to make judgment calls on food.
Color is also full of chemistry, there are a lot of different molecules and phenomena that play a role in giving a product color.
Browse through our archives to learn more about color in food!
Orange, purple, green, or bright red. You can find fruits and vegetables of just about any color out there. Some of them are very stable. Others disappear easily, or can even change color. Want to control the color of your…
Ever tried making pistachio ice cream? And ended up with brown ice cream? Not at all like the vibrant green pistachio ice creams you’d find in ice cream shops? Turns out, creating bright green pistachio ice cream needs some help…
How you prepare broccoli doesn’t just affect its flavor. It also affects color, texture, and more. Do you cook it short or long, hot or dry? The final results can be very different! Using science, we compare 5 different ways…
Did your salad leaves turn yellow in the fridge? Did your green beans lose their bright green color while cooking? Or did you end up with some very pale cooked broccoli? Most natural colors, including green, aren’t very stable and…
Just wanted to eat a hard-boiled egg and found out that it contains a dark grey ring around the yolk? No need to throw it out, these grey egg yolks are still perfectly safe to eat. They just don’t look…
Have you had cooked red beetroots turn an unappetizing brown color? Luckily, there’s a simple way to keep cooked beetroots red. All you need is some acid! We regularly do science experiments in our kitchen. Most of them are done…
Want to give your red cabbage salad a nice vibrant pinkish color? Just sprinkle in a little lime juice and your previously purple cabbage will turn pink! Or, to lighten up your cooked cabbage, add a few pieces of apple…
Have you ever wondered why some potatoes brown easily upon frying or baking, while others remain a pale yellow? Good news: you can influence this browning process yourself. According to theory, at least… Of course, we put this to the…
Would you buy a raw brown steak? What about a blue apple? Green coconut flakes? Or a grey orange? Probably not. If the color of food isn’t ‘right’ consumers won’t buy it anymore, even if it is perfectly safe and…
The secret behind that yellow dal, yellow rice, or beautifully colored curry? Chances are, it’s turmeric! A mere teaspoon can color a sauce or dish. Aside from those ‘typical’ dishes, you might also find it added to cheese, butter, or…
The other day, having some rhubarb left and not wanting to make a rhubarb pie, cake or crumble (>90% of rhubarb recipes online seem to be for one of those!), I decided to try a rhubarb ice cream. I had…
There is a very easy way to distinguish a fresh uncooked shrimp from a cooked one: its colour. If you’ve ever cooked shrimp before, you will have noticed this colour transformation. The shrimp will convert from a blue, translucent colour…