green beer - naturally
from saltspring island brewing:
Because we get asked about this every year, we did some research for ya: here's how to make green beer for St Paddy's, sans chemicals. So, if you insist on imbibing your beer a-la Lephrechaun this Saturday, you may do so more naturally. (makes sense if you're drinking organic beer ;) Note: because beer is already 'yellow', blue coloring is the way to get green beer.
Do It Yourself – Homemade Natural Blue Food Coloring
Ingredients:
Half head red cabbage (yes, I said “red cabbage!”)
Water
Baking Soda
Method:
1. Wash the cabbage and cut out the stem.
2. Chop into small pieces.
3. Place cabbage pieces in a pot and add water until the cabbage is covered.
4. Simmer for 10 minutes and then drain.
5. The resulting liquid will be purplish.
6. Gradually add baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, until you get a nice blue hue. Be careful, because the baking soda will add flavor to the coloring. If you are using the color for something you will be eating then you need to be especially careful how much you add. Since it is the alkaline quality of the baking soda that causes the red cabbage juice to turn blue, you can also add spinach juice, green tea, or another alkaline ingredient.
7. Notes: The color in the cabbage juice, itself is not particularly sensitive to temperature, but the mixture of the baking soda with the juice is. So you will want to add the color after the food item has cooled, or else only add it to food items that will not be heated.
Recipe courtesy of wholenewmom.com
Because we get asked about this every year, we did some research for ya: here's how to make green beer for St Paddy's, sans chemicals. So, if you insist on imbibing your beer a-la Lephrechaun this Saturday, you may do so more naturally. (makes sense if you're drinking organic beer ;) Note: because beer is already 'yellow', blue coloring is the way to get green beer.
Do It Yourself – Homemade Natural Blue Food Coloring
Ingredients:
Half head red cabbage (yes, I said “red cabbage!”)
Water
Baking Soda
Method:
1. Wash the cabbage and cut out the stem.
2. Chop into small pieces.
3. Place cabbage pieces in a pot and add water until the cabbage is covered.
4. Simmer for 10 minutes and then drain.
5. The resulting liquid will be purplish.
6. Gradually add baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, until you get a nice blue hue. Be careful, because the baking soda will add flavor to the coloring. If you are using the color for something you will be eating then you need to be especially careful how much you add. Since it is the alkaline quality of the baking soda that causes the red cabbage juice to turn blue, you can also add spinach juice, green tea, or another alkaline ingredient.
7. Notes: The color in the cabbage juice, itself is not particularly sensitive to temperature, but the mixture of the baking soda with the juice is. So you will want to add the color after the food item has cooled, or else only add it to food items that will not be heated.
Recipe courtesy of wholenewmom.com
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