Colourants - Using Marigold, Carrot, & Saffron To Make Orange Dye

[Mad Cheese]

Living in Madagascar, I don't exactly have access to many critical cheese making supplies. I've been tracking down a thermometer for a month now. No luck yet, but I do have a promising lead. 

Regardless, cheese making has been going marvelously here. I have a couple of white cheddars aging right now, but I'd like to add a few more yellow ones. No chance of getting anatto, so I want to try marigold or carrot dyes.

Anyone know how much to make the dye? How much dye to use? When to add the dye?

Thanks for any help.

[linuxboy]

Hi and welcome,

To make a vegetable dye, you cut up or puree the vegetable/plant (beets, carrots, and red cabbage work well), and add a little water to thin down the puree or to extract the color. Let that sit for a day so the colors are extracted. Then you strain off the water, such as by using cheesecloth or a plain cotton muslin fabric. Then you take that liquid and set it outside covered with a cloth so bugs don't get in. This is to evaporate away some of the water.

Check on it every week or so. After it is half of the original volume, it should be a little thicker, and ready for use.

Add this before rennet and stir thoroughly. Add as much as you need to get the color you want, from a few drops, to several tablespoons.

[Mad Cheese]

Brilliant. Thank you. Will get some carrots and marigold dye going tomorrow.

[DeejayDebi]

I would caution that you try it a few drops at a time a the cheese gets much darker than the milk shows before pressing. As it drys it will be noticably darker in color even if the milk doesn't show any change.

[Tea]

Interesting thread.

I was cooking up some rice the other day, and was deciding whether to put in some saffron for a change, then started wondering whether a strand or two could be used to colour a cheese.

[DeejayDebi]

Tea -

I amde a cheese a few months back with saffron threads. I believe I used like 7 threads and got a creamy yellow. Very expensive for coloring but the favor is really nice.