If you don't have chocolate food coloring or don't want to buy ready-made chocolate food coloring, there are several ways you can mix or make your own coloring. Read this article for how to make the perfect chocolate color by mixing other dyes and how to make natural chocolate dye from edible ingredients, such as cocoa powder or coffee.
Step
Method 1 of 2: Mixing Food Coloring
Step 1. Find two opposite colors in the color wheel
Red and green, orange and blue, or yellow and purple can be mixed to make brown.
You can use liquid or gel dyes. Gel dyes are preferred because they can produce good color in small amounts
Step 2. Mix the two colors in a 1:1 ratio
So, for 1 drop of red, add 1 drop of green.
Mix the two colors in a glass or metal bowl. The dye may stain the plastic bowl
Step 3. Add dye to achieve the desired brown color
- Mix red and yellow in a ratio of 1:10 (1 drop red and 10 drops yellow) to make a tan.
- Add 1 drop of blue to make a dark brown color.
- Add red or yellow if the resulting color is gray or black.
- Add orange and green to lighten the red and green mixture and to create a tan.
- Add 1 drop of black to make a very dark brown.
Step 4. Keep in mind that the brown dye will darken as it begins to harden
The espresso color that you have made may darken the next day to a black color. Therefore, make a mixture of colors that are lighter than the desired color.
- If you're coloring frosting, make the dye 1-2 days in advance to get the color you want.
- If the frosting is still not dark enough, add 1 drop of black or more.
- If the frosting is too dark, add a little white to lighten the color.
Step 5. Add the dye little by little
To make a good color, the addition of brown coloring is often done in large quantities. However, this can damage the frosting or toy wax from adding too much dye.
Method 2 of 2: Making Natural Food Coloring
Step 1. Choose a coloring material
The dye will give you the brown color you need. You can use ground espresso, instant coffee, cocoa powder, cinnamon, or black tea for a tan.
- Keep in mind that you will need a lot of ingredients to make a very dark brown. Therefore, the taste of the dye will be very strong. Cinnamon is great for making light browns, but the flavor will be too strong to make dark browns.
- If you use a small amount, you won't feel the dye. It's fine if you want to use a dill seed-based dye for your buttercream as long as you use a small amount.
- You may not get the same color as ready-made dyes. Oil-based dyes only need a small amount to produce a good color, while natural dyes need a large amount to produce color. Most recipes will fail if large amounts of dye are added. The recipe will either taste weird or be too runny to work with.
Step 2. Brew the dye with water to make a liquid dye
For a cup of water, add a cup of coffee, cup of cocoa powder, 10 tea bags, or 4 tablespoons of seasoning.
- Boil water and coloring matter.
- Boil slowly or simmer over low heat for 15-30 minutes.
- Allow the dye mixture to come to room temperature.
- Pour the mixture into a sieve to filter out any remaining lumps. Store the dye in a glass or metal bowl so it doesn't leave marks.
Step 3. Grind the coloring matter with a coffee or spice grinder to make powdered dye
The key to making powdered dye is to grind it very finely. If the coloring material used is coarse (like the crystals in instant coffee), grind the material to a fine powder.
Powder dyes have a denser texture so they can produce a darker color. Keep in mind that too much coloring can change the taste of the food
Step 4. Add the dye little by little
Keep in mind that using too much liquid dye can ruin the texture and shape of whatever you're coloring, especially frosting. Too much liquid coloring can affect the taste. Make sure you taste the colored food before adding it back.
Face the reality that you can't make nice, bright colors out of natural dyes. Taste and consistency are more important than getting the perfect color
Tips
- Wear an apron when making the dye so that the clothes don't get dirty.
- Add a maximum of 1 teaspoon of powdered sugar/flour/etc. (whatever powder you use to make the icing) grinding coffee granules or coarse tea flakes can make the result smoother without affecting the taste too much.
