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Why is my red cabbage suddenly turning blue when cooking, while it never did so before?
The red in red cabbage is Anthocyanin, which is a natural pigment which turns blue in the presence of a base. Apples are slightly acidic, adding apples kept the cabbage's ph towards the acid side, ...
- 75.4k
41
votes
How do I make my blended soup a more appealing colour?
Of course “appealing” is quite opinion-based, so let’s look at the problem in a slightly more neutral “how can I avoid the colors mixing when I blend the soup”.
In short, you can’t.
If you have a ...
- 58.8k
39
votes
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What would cause the peel of a lime to turn yellow?
Ethylene, most likely.
You've said that that lime was at the bottom of the bowl, mostly covered with other fruit. I'll bet it was very close to some kiwis.
Fruit -- particularly "climacteric"...
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33
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Why is black pepper both grey and black?
Here is a photo of a peppercorn. You can see why a ground one might contain both black and grey bits.
- 73.8k
30
votes
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How do I avoid my food becoming brownish/dark while cooking?
The "browning" or "coloring" of food during cooking and baking1 is a reaction of temperature and/or time. As a rule of thumb, the hotter your pan or oven, the faster the food will brown.
There are ...
- 58.8k
28
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Does squid ink pasta bleed?
No, as far as I know pasta made with squid ink, often called nero di seppia, should be stable, and the ink doesn't normally bleed.
From my experience after boiling black pasta, even the fresh kind, ...
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28
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How do I make my blended soup a more appealing colour?
The Turquoise Room (at the La Posada Hotel in Winslow, Arizona) has a "signature soup", which is actually two soups ladled into a single bowl: a bright yellow corn soup, and a darker brown ...
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28
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Flatbread dough turned red
As Joe mentioned, there was something acting as a litmus paper!
Turmeric placed in an alkaline solution will turn bright red!
quoted from: https://foodcrumbles.com/how-turmeric-gets-its-color/
Most ...
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27
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Why is my red cabbage suddenly turning blue when cooking, while it never did so before?
It's turning blue because it's no longer acidic - the apples in your parents' version was providing some acidity which keeps it red.
You can sub in something else to provide the acidity if the apple ...
- 373
22
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What does it mean when an egg splatters and the white is greenish-yellow?
From The Splendid Table:
Older eggs (which are still safe to eat) tend to be more alkaline, which encourages a green reaction similar to that green ring you can get around a hard-cooked egg yolk. The ...
- 3,591
19
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Why is my red cabbage suddenly turning blue when cooking, while it never did so before?
Red cabbage is an indicator that changes color depending pH. If in acidic environment, the cabbage changes color to red, in an alkaline environment it turns blue.
Depending on the acidity/alkalinity ...
- 1,249
17
votes
Some duck egg yolks orange while others are yellow: does that reflect the egg quality?
Some duck egg yolks are orange while others are yellow.
Does that reflect the egg quality?
Summary
No
The following applies to poultry eggs in general, not specifically duck eggs.
Where does the ...
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15
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Why did the apple skins turn blue/purple-ish in my apple pancakes the next day?
I feel fairly confident that what you see is anthocyanins (naturally present in apple skin) reacting with some leavening in your pancakes.
Here's a link that explains in more details, but I'll ...
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How can I improve the colour of my red wine mousse?
Red wine changes colour with pH. It's slightly acidic, more so in younger wines that are a brighter red. Many fruit and veg compounds act as pH indicators, such as those in raspberries and red cabbage....
- 43.8k
14
votes
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How to make my scrambled eggs more yellow?
Ah, we consumers and our expectations:
Egg yolks are yellow.
But in reality, yolks come in a range from pale yellow to deep orange. The colour is determined by the food (wheat makes lighter yolks ...
- 58.8k
13
votes
Color of fried beef steak: sometimes dark, sometimes light-colored. Why?
It's quite likely that the steaks that ended up darker were dry when you started cooking them.
If you don't dry off the surface of your steak, the heat is used to evaporate the moisture on the ...
- 80.1k
12
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Adding chili powder to a dish makes it dark black
I make my own chili powder by drying (already dried) chilies in the oven till crispy. I then add them to a food processor and grind them to a rough powder.
The result is a very dark chili powder that ...
- 1,286
10
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How does the meat in Weisswurst get so white?
The real question should be "what makes sausages pink" - but more later.
All meat turns greyish-white or brown when cooked. This is due to the myoglobin, which makes raw meat look pink or red, being ...
- 58.8k
8
votes
Can a blood orange be half bloody?
I just happen to cut into this literally Half Bloody Blood orange! Tasted great and so pretty!
- 81
7
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Red "white" onion?
As Wikipedia states (with good sources):
A Vidalia onion (/vɪˈdeɪliə/ or /vaɪˈdeɪliə/) is a sweet onion of certain varieties, grown in a production area defined by law of the U.S. state of Georgia ...
- 1,612
7
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Stop Hummus from darkening
Sure, a few tips below. Note that you're not going to be able to keep it from drying/darkening entirely; the below is intended to keep it as appetizing as possible despite this.
Use a higher % of ...
- 61.4k
7
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Is chicken with yellowish parts spoiled?
Yellowing (particularly around the hocks) can be an indicator of the breed, and is more prevalent on younger chickens. For females it can fade as they reach laying age, although diet (high in corn) ...
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What should I do to keep the color bright when I use natural pigments such as blue spirulina to make baked products？
You cannot keep it. This is just how the chemicals in spirulina work. It isn't suitable for coloring baked goods.
Spirulina coloring has been tested to be heat stable to about 45 C. Between 45 and 70, ...
- 137k
6
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Will fresh bell peppers give stew a red colour?
Normally no. Paprika and the like are dried and powdered. You will likely get some red coloration if you puree your fresh red peppers before adding to your stew. Absent that step, the red remains ...
- 11.7k
6
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Why would using a tall baking pan cause the top of a cake to be darker?
Very theoretically: if the pan is filled to the brim, the upper surface of the cake will be closer to the heating element, so the cake will be somewhat darker.
I am actually quite skeptical that this ...
- 137k
5
votes
Pitaya Red Velvet Cake became brown
Note that carrot cake isn't the bright orange of raw or even boiled carrots either. This is especially true of the crust and from your description of partway through cooking I suspect that's the ...
- 43.8k
5
votes
Accepted
Why do brinjal change their color when they being cut? How to keep them not to change color?
Aubergine change colour because they are oxidizing, potatoes are in the plant family(night shades) and turn brown too. The best way to prevent browing is to immerse in water as soon as they are cut....
- 96
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Does squid ink pasta bleed?
I have cooked squid ink pasta, and did not find much bleeding. On the other hand, i’ve had SIP in a restaurant, and everything was stained black. So perhaps there’s some other variable at play.
- 176
5
votes
Is synthetic astaxanthin (salmon "dye") safe?
Yes, the FDA has determined that astaxanthin is "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS), at 0.15 mg/serving. This doesn't indicate whether there are any health considerations associated with ...
- 27.2k
5
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How do I make my blended soup a more appealing colour?
I sometimes use a sweet, mild paprika to redden tomato-based soups which have turned out too brown. It doesn't go with every flavour, of course, but it works very well to liven up the appearance.
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