# Is there a common food that we think of as colored, but which is naturally white? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 19, 2011, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752 "2011-12-19T16:42:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/41 "2011-12-20T03:15:27Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > Farmed Salmon: the fish are fed red food coloring to turn their flesh to the expected, well, salmon hue. (Wild salmon eat crustaceans that provide the color). _Otherwise they’d be white like most other fish_. [my italics] I agree with your assessment of salmon, but “white like most other fish” seems to me way off mark. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/42 "2011-12-20T03:25:57Z")
Fresh, consumer ready beef is purple. The mechanisms of packaging and O2 and CO2 to bring the more “bloody” color out is beyond me, but is discussed here: [Food Packaging: Principles and Practice, Second Edition - Gordon L. Robertson - Google Books](http://books.google.com/books?id=NFRR6GayR74C&pg=PA336&lpg=PA336&dq=retail+beef+before+dying+red&source=bl&ots=OmqUenVLoR&sig=3qPAtizCd4NVMY_KI1b-GvBn6tk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=OP7vTv2QJKTY0QHV7PXbCQ&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=retail%20beef%20before%20dying%20red&f=false) ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/43 "2011-12-20T03:57:42Z")
Grape juice is naturally clear, but when bottled or in concentrate, purple coloring is added. ---
**Author:** ![Amblydoper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@Amblydoper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amblydoper)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/44 "2011-12-20T04:08:01Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > Farmed Salmon: the fish are fed red food coloring to turn their flesh to the expected, well, salmon hue. (Wild salmon eat crustaceans that provide the color). Otherwise they’d be white like most other fish. Astaxanthin is not a food coloring. It is a carotenoid nutrient that salmon needs to live. [http://www.salmonfacts.org/color.html](http://www.salmonfacts.org/color.html) ---
**Author:** ![Amblydoper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@Amblydoper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amblydoper)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/45 "2011-12-20T04:09:03Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > Grape juice is naturally clear… It is? So how do they make red wine? ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/46 "2011-12-20T04:09:41Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Sodas. > I once had a chocolate cream soda that was water-clear. It was a very peculiar example of cognitive dissonance. Didn’t Pepsi make an ill-fated clear version? “Pepsi Crystal”, I believe. I know marketing types who still like to laugh at that one. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/47 "2011-12-20T04:18:23Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > Grape juice is naturally clear, but when bottled or in concentrate, purple coloring is added. I’m sorry, but that’s not true. Purple grape juice, labeled 100% Juice is just that. No sugars, no artificial colors or flavors. Ingredients: Grape juice from concentrate (filtered water, grape juice concentrate), Grape Juice, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C). No artificial flavors or colors added. (Contains natural fruit sugars only.) Made from Concord Grapes. ---
**Author:** ![Bartman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bartman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bartman)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/48 "2011-12-20T05:39:25Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > I’m sorry, but that’s not true. Purple grape juice, labeled 100% Juice is just that. No sugars, no artificial colors or flavors. Right. I’ve bottled hundreds of gallons of the stuff over the years from backyard grapes. If you use the right grapes, like concords, you can get a really dark purple juice. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/49 "2011-12-20T05:40:13Z")
> [@Amblydoper](#): > > [in response to earlier remark by **rowrrbazzle** that grape juice is clear] > > It is? So how do they make red wine? Most wine grapes are various shades of reddish on the outside but standard grape pale green inside. To make red and rose wines, they leave some amount of the skins in while they ferment it, then filter out the solid remains afterward. (I learned this on a winery tour in Paso Robles.) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/50 "2011-12-20T06:46:43Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Most wine grapes are various shades of reddish on the outside but standard grape pale green inside. To make red and rose wines, they leave some amount of the skins in while they ferment it, then filter out the solid remains afterward. > > (I learned this on a winery tour in Paso Robles.) This is correct. Champagne, for instance, usually has pinot noir and pinot meunier grapes (both dark-skinned grapes), in addition to chardonnay. Not all red/black grapes have greenish juices, but most do. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/51 "2011-12-20T07:35:38Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > I think _real_ wasabi paste is pale green, but you almost never get real wasabi (especially in the US). What you get is horseradish dyed pale-to-unnaturally-bright green. , Am I right in recalling someone saying that real wasabi is not explosively pungent also? (IIRC someone said it should taste like strong watercress) ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/52 "2011-12-20T09:56:09Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Most commercial marmelades, fruit jams are colored. > In Sweden, most jams are not allowed to be colored with dyes-so your strawberry jam is kinda grey, not red at all. I have never seen this in my life. ---
**Author:** ![Panurge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@Panurge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panurge)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/53 "2011-12-20T10:24:02Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > For decades pistachios came dyed red. [Fresh pistacios are pink](http://images.google.com/search?hl=da&q=fresh%20pistacio&gbv=2&aq=f&oq=&biw=843&bih=860&sei=KGDwTqXeD86N4gTE1JDCAQ&tbm=isch) - perhaps that’s what you are thinking of? > [@ralph124c](#): > > Most commercial marmelades, fruit jams are colored. > In Sweden, most jams are not allowed to be colored with dyes-so your strawberry jam is kinda grey, not red at all. Like many others have said this is not my experience at all. Swedish strawberry jam is just as red as any other. > [@kombatminipig](#): > > I do, in fact, have a jar of perfectly Swedish strawberry jam right in front of me (of the “Den gamle fabrik”-brand). I assure you it’s a very healthy scarlet red. It’s a Danish brand. I think our rules and regulations on food coloring are as strict as the Swedish rules, but it’s not a valid example here. ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/54 "2011-12-20T10:59:43Z")
I remember something about farmed Salmon being white and they ahve to feed it chemicals to replace the natural food a wild salmon eats that gives it it’s colour? ---
**Author:** ![kombatminipig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5ac83/32.png) [@kombatminipig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kombatminipig)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/55 "2011-12-20T11:28:55Z")
> [@Panurge](#): > > It’s a Danish brand. I think our rules and regulations on food coloring are as strict as the Swedish rules, but it’s not a valid example here. Yes and no. If it didn’t fit the Swedish guidelines, it wouldn’t be allowed to be sold with the label “sylt”. Swedish consumer laws are very strict when it comes to labels, not allowing sausages with to little meat content to be called “korv” for example. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/56 "2011-12-20T11:36:38Z")
> [@Panurge](#): > > [Fresh pistacios are pink](http://images.google.com/search?hl=da&q=fresh%20pistacio&gbv=2&aq=f&oq=&biw=843&bih=860&sei=KGDwTqXeD86N4gTE1JDCAQ&tbm=isch) - perhaps that’s what you are thinking of? Search for red pistachios… Those are the pistachios of my youth, would leave a nice red stain on your fingers. ---
**Author:** ![Panurge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@Panurge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panurge)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/57 "2011-12-20T11:46:18Z")
D’oh. Should have done that from the start. Man, they look strange - I’ve never seen them before. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/58 "2011-12-20T13:21:37Z")
Yeah, my wife and I were just talking the other day wondering when it was decided that pistachios would no longer be dyed (either red or green) and if it is even possible to get them that way any more since it has been so long since we’ve seen them. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/59 "2011-12-20T15:00:28Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Am I right in recalling someone saying that real wasabi is not explosively pungent also? (IIRC someone said it should taste like strong watercress) It’s smoother and somehow more delicate than horseradish, but it’s still in that general flavor category. If you had real wasabi, you’d still recognize it. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/60 "2011-12-20T15:22:37Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > It’s smoother and somehow more delicate than horseradish, but it’s still in that general flavor category. If you had real wasabi, you’d still recognize it. I’ve heard that the pungency fades quickly, and that it pretty much has to be used freshly ground. However, allyl isothiocyanate is perfectly stable when it comes from other ground plants, so I suspect this is wrong. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752.md?page=4)