The Colours of Food

In Indonesia chemical food coloring is not really needed, as many plants provide natural dyes that can be used instead. According to botanical experts there are about 30,000 plant varieties in Indonesia, of which more than 208 are potential sources of food coloring. Food is colored to make it appear more appetizing and enhance its presentation. Many food coloring agents also contain medicinal properties as gastronome and epicurean el supremo Suryatini N. Ganie explains.

Many parts of plants, such as the roots, stems, leaves, flowers and fruits produce red, green, yellow and brown colors in many shades.

Red dye can be sourced from kulit secang (Caesalpinia sappan), teak tree leaves or red spinach.

A fruit that is often used to color sweets red is the buah gondola (Basella alba). Juice of the plant is dried under the sun and becomes a flour, known by the Sundanese of West Java as gincu, and used in coloring traditional (Chinese) sweets.

The people of Papua, however, prefer to use boiled screwpine leaves (Pandanus conoideus) to color their sago staple red. A flower which provides a reddish color is the kembang sepatu merah (Hibiscus rosa sinensis).

Green dye is mostly obtained from leaves. Renowned and used daily by many is the daun suji (Pleomele angustifolia) and the pandan wangi (Pandanus amaryllifolius).

Pandan wangi leaves are also used as an aromatic agent. The color is obtained by mixing the leaves with water and grinding, then sieving. It is used to color and flavor sweet klepon, a small ball of steamed glutinous rice flour with a filling of melted brown sugar.

Yellow food coloring is obtained from rimpang kunyit (Curcuma domestica), which is also a medicinal agent.

Yellow-colored rice is known as nasi or ketan kuning. Other yellow dye-producing plants are bunga srigading (Yotanhes arbor-tristis), seeds of the kaca piring flower (Gardenia jasminnoides) and kayu nangka (Autocarpus integra).

When boiled the kayu nangka produces a pale yellow color which is called morine in Java, and used to color coconut sweets.

Many people in Indonesia like black-colored foods. Black dye can be made from the ash of sifted rice hulls. Dried coconut peel is also a source of black dye, as well as the ash of dried banana leaves.

In Papua, mainly in Manokwari, the main source of black dye is buah hitam, which is used to color sago. Keluak, or black nut, is used daily in a Toraja kitchen.

These plants are examples of the vast sources of natural dye, but there are still many unknown sources of dye that have yet to be researched.

For centuries, the most commonly-used natural food coloring has been gula merah, or gula jawa, which gives food a chocolate-brown color and pleasant aroma. It is called “brown sugar”, or “palm sugar” when translated into English. Gula jawa is produced from coconut, aren (Arenga pinnata) or siwalan (Borassus sundaica), and can be used as a food or beverage coloring.

Another source of brown dye is the leaves of jambu biji (Psisium guajava) when mixed with the peel of bawang merah (Allium cepa), or shallots.

When I visited Singapore a friend of mine, a well-known food writer, gave me a tip on how to color food blue.

“Take a bunga telang (Clitoria ternatea),” she suggested, “and you can color steamed glutinous rice a fascinating blue color.” “Or use blueish-colored ube,” a Filipino would say, referring to their colorful and delicious ube ice cream.

Just look around you. In this tropical land you will find that plants provide colors of the rainbow to decorate the food on your plate!

Suryatini N. Ganie