How to make Purple Food Coloring

Purple food coloring is a popular choice for anyone looking to add an extra pop of color to their baked goods. It’s also easy to make at home! Here are some different options for making purple food coloring from scratch so you can craft your own creations with ease.

Traditional Food Coloring

Food coloring comes in two primary forms: natural and synthetic. These options offer distinct choices for adding vibrant hues to your culinary creations. Natural food coloring is made from plants or insects, while synthetic food coloring is created in a lab.

Synthetic dyes tend to be more stable than natural dyes, meaning they do not break down as easily when exposed to heat or light. This makes them ideal for use in a wider range of foods (such as baked goods), but it also means that they’re not always safe for consumption by children who may be sensitive or allergic to certain ingredients found in these products–and even adults!

If you’re planning on using purple food coloring as part of an allergen-free diet plan, consider using 100% pure beetroot powder instead–it won’t change the flavor profile of your dish at all!

Liquid Gel Dye

Liquid gel dye is a liquid food coloring that’s made from natural ingredients. It can be used in cakes, icing and frosting.

Liquid gel dyes are made from beetroot, blackberries, blueberries, elderberries, red cabbage and rhubarb. These dyes are created by extracting the pigment molecules from these fruits and vegetables using water solubility tests–which means they will dissolve in water more easily than other types of dyes (like FD&C).

Gel Paste Dye

Gel paste dyes are made from natural ingredients, and they’re very concentrated. They’re also very bright. But there are some downsides, gel paste dyes aren’t stable. Which means that they can’t be stored for long periods of time (about 6 months) without being refrigerated or frozen, and because these dyes are so concentrated. It’s easy to accidentally get an overdose if you don’t follow the recipe exactly as directed.

Gel paste dyes come in a wide variety of colors and many of them look exactly like their powdered counterparts! You’ll need to check the percentage of dye on each bottle label before buying it at the store because this information isn’t always given when purchasing online (it will usually say something like “1 oz” instead).

Natural Food Coloring

• Red cabbage
• Beets
• Blueberries and blackberries (for purple)
• Cranberries (for pink)
• Eggplant, grapes and red onion (for purple)
• Rhubarb (for reds and pinks)
• Strawberries or tomatoes for yellow

Powdered Dye

Powdered dye, also known as liquid food coloring and crayon wax, is a powdered form of water-soluble dyes that can be used to color foods. Powdered dyes are much more concentrated than liquid food coloring and are often used in candy-making and other applications where you want a bright color.

Because powdered dyes are so strong. You’ll need to use less than you would with regular liquid food coloring. 

For example, if your recipe calls for 1/2 tsp of blue liquid dye but all you have is blue powdered dye (which has more concentrated pigment), then add just 1/4 tsp instead. It’s always better to start out using less than too much because it’s easy to add more if needed!

You can find powdered dyes at most craft stores or online retailers like Amazon or Etsy

Make your own purple food coloring.

To make your own purple food coloring, you can mix blue and red food coloring or blue, red and yellow. You can also use blue or yellow to make a lighter shade of purple.

Conclusion

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about food coloring and how to make purple food coloring. We know that it can be a pain to have to buy artificial dyes in the store, so we wanted to share some of our favorite ways with you.
If you want an inexpensive way out of buying these artificial products, try our natural recipe for making purple food coloring at home. Just mix one part powdered blackberry juice concentrate with two parts water until it reaches the desired color intensity (or simply use only water if no other liquid is available). Or if you prefer something even simpler than that and more colorful try using blueberries or cranberries instead of berries themselves!