# Food without artificial colors? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 4, 2008, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-without-artificial-colors/451700 "2008-06-04T00:02:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2008, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-without-artificial-colors/451700/1 "2008-06-04T00:02:57Z")
I just heard a news report about the FDA coming down on some food dyes. I used to eat only natural foods, and believe me, some foods (especially preserved foods) look none too pretty without coloring. So, would you eat brown grape jelly? Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2008, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-without-artificial-colors/451700/2 "2008-06-04T00:38:11Z")
Moved from IMHO to CS. ---
**Author:** ![MadPansy64](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@MadPansy64](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadPansy64)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2008, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-without-artificial-colors/451700/3 "2008-06-04T02:31:02Z")
I’ve made it, even. It’s not brown so much as, well, uhm, vaguely purpley grayish brown. Chokecherry jelly is naturally a lovely clear light red, and much tastier to boot. 😛 Strawberry-rhubarb and Raspberry also. Down with grape jelly! ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2008, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-without-artificial-colors/451700/4 "2008-06-04T06:58:47Z")
Queen Anne’s Lace Jelly is always pink, it’s not that color naturally. I don’t think I want to eat it eithout a familiar color. It adds to it’s savory purely neurally. There is no other explanation. Color is very important culinarily. How many 'red" flavors can you think of… now, how many blue flavors? (besides windex) ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2008, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-without-artificial-colors/451700/5 "2008-06-04T14:39:47Z")
Cheddar cheese is naturally white(ish) but has coloring added to make it orange. I used to live in a region where the vast majority of cheddar sold was in fact white cheddar. This was not a problem for the purpose of eating a hunk of cheese, or for use in most recipes but I have a recipe for spoonbread topped with Vidalia onions, sour cream, and cheddar cheese. I just couldn’t picture it looking right without orange-y cheese, so I kept looking til I found some. ---
**Author:** ![phil417](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6bbea6/32.png) [@phil417](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phil417)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2008, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-without-artificial-colors/451700/6 "2008-06-04T16:45:14Z")
I love Ben & Jerry’s Cherries Garcia, but the 1st time I opened a carton, I thought, “this can’t be cherry ice cream – it’s not _pink_!” The taste is absolutely addictive, very cherry, though. I’ve turned my daughter and a couple of friends on to this wonderful stuff. Every one of them had the same 1st reaction. Love, Phil ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2008, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-without-artificial-colors/451700/7 "2008-06-04T17:10:12Z")
[QUOTE=devilsknew] Queen Anne’s Lace Jelly is always pink, it’s not that color naturally. I don’t think I want to eat it eithout a familiar color. It adds to it’s savory purely neurally. There is no other explanation. Color is very important culinarily. How many 'red" flavors can you think of… now, how many blue flavors? (besides windex) [/QUOTE] … blue raspberry? Why exactly is that a blue thing? ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2008, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-without-artificial-colors/451700/8 "2008-06-04T18:20:21Z")
[QUOTE=Eureka] Cheddar cheese is naturally white(ish) but has coloring added to make it orange. [/QUOTE] They use tumeric to do the coloring though, which is a yellow colored spice. They use enough to color the cheese, but not enough to change the flavor. No artificial color involved. ---
**Author:** ![masterofnone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@masterofnone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/masterofnone)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2008, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-without-artificial-colors/451700/9 "2008-06-04T19:24:38Z")
[QUOTE=devilsknew] Queen Anne’s Lace Jelly is always pink, it’s not that color naturally. [/QUOTE] Must have recipe! [QUOTE=Eureka] Cheddar cheese is naturally white(ish) but has coloring added to make it orange. [/QUOTE] I, OTOH, wouldn’t eat that horrible looking orange stuff. It’s Cabot or nothing! ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2008, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-without-artificial-colors/451700/10 "2008-06-04T19:54:53Z")
[QUOTE=butler1850] They use tumeric to do the coloring though, which is a yellow colored spice. They use enough to color the cheese, but not enough to change the flavor. No artificial color involved. [/QUOTE] True–it’s not artificial color in the same sense as Red Dye #6, but it’s artificial in the sense that the coloring is not needed for the flavor (or texture) but is arguably needed to meet people’s expectations. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-without-artificial-colors/451700/11 "2008-06-10T02:03:38Z")
[QUOTE=butler1850] They use tumeric to do the coloring though, which is a yellow colored spice. They use enough to color the cheese, but not enough to change the flavor. No artificial color involved. [/QUOTE] So who started the practice, and when? White cheddar is (was) quite common on the east coast, and I’ve eaten a lot of it. I don’t think it tasted any different, except for maker variations.