Our selfmade Sushi ! :) 

First things first. Four things to keep in mind:

1. Natural colorants often lend a more demure hue than their petroleum-laden cousins. This is merely due to ratios : a concentrated store-bought food coloring requires only a few drops to add color and thus doesn't change the texture of the food by adding vast amounts of liquid. By comparison, it's difficult to get a true “red” from beet juice rather than just pink, not because the beet juice isn't red enough, but because most recipes can't stand up to the amount of liquid required to obtain a true red.

HOWEVER, you CAN make concentrated natural food dyes. See below to learn how.

On the other hand, just a few drops of beet juice will create an absolutely lovely pink in frostings and ice creams without adding even a hint of beet flavor. (See the list below for a number of gorgeous examples….)

2. Since these colorants are foods themselves, remember that strongly colored foods also tend to be strongly flavored foods, so try – as much as possible – to avoid using large quantities of any of these (a small amount of cinnamon, for example, might make a frosting heavenly, but a large amount would render it inedible).

Also keep your final flavor in mind so that the colorants don't overwhelm it. I'm assuming you don't necessarily want paprika spiked buttercream or parsley ice cream! Again, small amounts of those colorants won't even be noticeable, but large amounts most certainly will.

3. Vegetable powders are great ways to add vivid colors without adding excess liquid, so if you're wanting a deep red, for example, use beet powder rather than beet juice. Another alternative is to reduce your liquid to a concentrated syrup, so see even farther below for a two quick tutorials on how to make vegetable powders and how to make concentrated homemade food coloring, just like you'd buy in a store.

4. Vegetables-based dyes can turn brown when baked, when otherwise put in an alkaline environment, or when sufficiently oxidized. Thus, vegetable dyes WILL NOT WORK when baked unless the batter or dough includes sufficient acid medium, such as buttermilk, lemon juice, or vinegar. I highly recommend stirring lemon juice into your vegetable juice (e.g. parsley juice, carrot juice, or beet juice) in at least a 1:6 ratio if making a rainbow cake or red velvet cupcake

You can also help keep the dyes at their vibrant-y best by cooking the vegetables ahead and blending them into a purée rather than using the raw juice.

Making your own homemade food coloring is easier than you think!

Natural Food Dyes / Homemade Food Coloring

Start with a small pinch or a few drops of these colorants and add more according to your desired shade.

RED:

pure beet juice

beet powder

pure pomegranate juice

red raspberry purée, strained to remove seeds

PINK:

pure beet juice

pure cranberry juice

pure raspberry juice

ORANGE:

pure carrot juice

carrot powder

paprika

YELLOW

fresh turmeric juice

ground turmeric

saffron

GREEN:

liquid chlorophyll (see where to buy liquid chlorophyll)

matcha powder (see where to buy matcha)

spirulina powder (see where to buy spirulina powder) – use sparingly

parsley juice

wheatgrass juice

spinach juice

spinach powder

parsley powder

BLUE:

(FYI: Blues and purples are notorious for being the most difficult dyes to produce, either naturally or in a lab, so it can be tricky to get the right hue. Blue butterfly pea flowers, interestingly enough, are by far the most reliable way to get a beautiful blue or violet. Purple sweet potatoes lend a lovely deeper purple.)

blue butterfly pea flowers (see where to buy butterfly pea flowers)

red cabbage juice

stir a bit of baking soda in with red cabbage juice or a purple dye for a brighter blue

PURPLE:

purple sweet potatoes

blue butterfly pea flowers + an acid, such as lemon juice

pure blueberry juice

purple grape juice, concentrated

TAN:

bentonite clay powder (bentonite is an edible clay) – use very sparingly

a very small amount of cocoa powder

BROWN:

cocoa powder

pure espresso

instant coffee granules

heavily steeped black tea

cinnamon

BLACK:

black cocoa powder (see where to buy black cocoa)

activated charcoal powder (yes, it’s safe to eat and even beneficial!)

squid ink (see where to buy squid ink)

And of course, if you can't get the color you want from making your own homemade natural food dyes, you can always buy a vegetable-based food coloring, but they're pricey: See Vegetable-based food coloring.

This delicious rainbow sushi gives you a burst of colors and tastes. Fresh fish, crisp vegetables, and seasoned rice go together perfectly, making a feast for the eyes and taste buds.

Ingredients: 3 cups sushi rice. 4 cups water. 1/2 cup rice vinegar. 3 tablespoons sugar. 1 teaspoon salt. Nori seaweed sheets. Assorted fish salmon, tuna, yellowtail. Avocado. Cucumber. Carrot. Red bell pepper. Soy sauce. Wasabi. Pickled ginger.

Instructions: Follow the directions on the package to cook the sushi rice. Put rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan and mix them together. Warm it up until the sugar melts. Add the rice that has been cooked and mix it well. Cut the fish, avocado, cucumber, carrot, and red bell pepper into very thin strips. Put a nori sheet on a sushi mat made of bamboo. Leave an inch of space at the top of the nori and spread a thin layer of seasoned rice on top of it. Make stripes of different colored fish and vegetables along the rice. Use the bamboo mat to roll the sushi up tightly. Cut the sushi roll into small pieces that you can easily eat. Put it on the plate with pickled ginger, soy sauce, and wasabi.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Rainbow-colored sushi rolls full of different kinds of seafood and vegetables.

Ingredients: 4 cups sushi rice. 4 sheets nori seaweed. Assorted vegetables carrot, cucumber, avocado, bell pepper, etc.. Assorted seafood tuna, salmon, crab, shrimp, etc.. Soy sauce. Wasabi. Pickled ginger.

Instructions: Follow the directions on the package to make sushi rice. Cut seafood and vegetables into thin strips. Spread out a nori sheet on a sushi mat made of bamboo. Leave a 1-inch space at the top of the sushi rice and spread it out evenly over the nori. Place long strips of seafood and vegetables across the rice. Use the bamboo mat to roll the sushi up tightly. Cut the roll into six to eight pieces. Do it again with the rest of the ingredients. Put it on the plate with pickled ginger, soy sauce, and wasabi.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes

These bright rainbow sushi rolls are not only beautiful to look at, but they also taste great. They are a tasty and healthy meal or snack because they are full of fresh vegetables and sashimi-grade fish. This is a great way to wow party guests or have a fun sushi night at home.

Ingredients: 3 cups sushi rice, cooked. 6 nori seaweed sheets. 1 avocado, sliced. 1 cucumber, julienned. 1 carrot, julienned. 1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced. 1/2 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced. 1/2 lb sashimi-grade salmon, thinly sliced. 1/2 lb sashimi-grade tuna, thinly sliced. Soy sauce, for dipping. Pickled ginger, for serving. Wasabi, for serving.

Instructions: Place a bamboo sushi mat on a flat surface and wrap it in plastic wrap. Lay a nori sheet on the mat so that the shiny side is facing down. Spread a layer of sushi rice over the nori, making sure to leave a 1-inch edge at the top. Put slices of red and yellow bell pepper, avocado, carrot, sashimi-grade salmon and tuna, and red and yellow bell pepper and arrange them in rows across the middle of the rice. Start rolling the sushi tightly from the bottom edge of the bamboo mat, pressing gently to seal. With a sharp knife, cut the roll into small pieces that are easy to eat. Do it again with the rest of the ingredients. Soy sauce, pickled ginger, and wasabi should be served with the rainbow sushi rolls.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes

These bright rainbow sushi rolls are not only beautiful to look at, but they also taste great. They are a tasty and healthy meal or snack because they are full of fresh vegetables and sashimi-grade fish. This is a great way to wow party guests or have a fun sushi night at home.

Ingredients: 3 cups sushi rice, cooked. 6 nori seaweed sheets. 1 avocado, sliced. 1 cucumber, julienned. 1 carrot, julienned. 1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced. 1/2 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced. 1/2 lb sashimi-grade salmon, thinly sliced. 1/2 lb sashimi-grade tuna, thinly sliced. Soy sauce, for dipping. Pickled ginger, for serving. Wasabi, for serving.

Instructions: Place a bamboo sushi mat on a flat surface and wrap it in plastic wrap. Lay a nori sheet on the mat so that the shiny side is facing down. Spread a layer of sushi rice over the nori, making sure to leave a 1-inch edge at the top. Put slices of red and yellow bell pepper, avocado, carrot, sashimi-grade salmon and tuna, and red and yellow bell pepper and arrange them in rows across the middle of the rice. Start rolling the sushi tightly from the bottom edge of the bamboo mat, pressing gently to seal. With a sharp knife, cut the roll into small pieces that are easy to eat. Do it again with the rest of the ingredients. Soy sauce, pickled ginger, and wasabi should be served with the rainbow sushi rolls.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes