# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/61 "2011-12-20T15:49:50Z")
I once read that canned green vegetables used to look pretty pale-so unscrupulous canners used to add stuff like copper sulphate (to give them a nice, fresh-picked appearence). This (of course) was before the days of the US FDA. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/62 "2011-12-20T16:07:57Z")
> [@obfusciatrist](#): > > 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. A Staff report: > **[Why are pistachios colored red?](https://www.straightdope.com/21342937/why-are-pistachios-colored-red)** > > A STAFF REPORT FROM THE STRAIGHT DOPE SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD “. Years ago when pistachios were all imported into the U.S., the antiquated harvesting and processing methods in the Middle East often left blemishes on the hulls. So they dyed them to mask the unsightly marks. They figured the bright red color would also draw more attention to them in vending machines where they had to compete with Good N’Plentys. Now that pistachios are grown in the U.S., they are usually sold in their natural state. “ ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/63 "2011-12-20T16:46:45Z")
When I was little, I always thought they dyed the pistachios red for the holidays. That was always my Christmas gift to my dad growing up, and I never paid any attention to them the rest of the year, so I just assumed it was a special “Christmas batch.” ---
**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, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/64 "2011-12-20T16:50:32Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > 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. I wouldn’t know. I’ve only had it freshly grated, and I’m not one to use sushi as a wasabi-and-soy delivery system, so I’ve only had little dabs of it at a time. What I’ve always noticed is that real wasabi doesn’t quite have the same kind of sharpness. It’s still got the same kind of heat, just a little more sweetness, perhaps, and a smoother finish. It’s like horseradish is somehow more “chemically” than wasabi. ETA: Actually, that last bit suggested a comparison to me. Horseradish vs wasabi is somewhat analogous to the difference between distilled white vinegar and real apple cider vinegar. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/65 "2011-12-20T17:19:42Z")
> [@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. > [@Amblydoper](#): > > 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) The cited website is produced by the Salmon farming industry, so it’s not surprising that they’ll try and give the impression that farmed salmon aren’t artificially colored. However, carefully reading the article, I don’t find any actual claim that astaxanthin is a necessary nutrient for salmon. The article often says astaxanthin is a nutrient, and sort of says that the general class of carotenoids are necessary, but it kind of glosses over whether this particular carotenoid is necessary. In fact, this article admits that chicken farmers use astaxanthin in feed to color egg yolks. Now many, many articles state that without astaxanthin, farmed salmon has greyish flesh. If astaxanthin was a necessary nutrient, how could any farmed salmon have survived long enough for anyone to know what color their flesh was? So, unless someone can produce a cite stating explicitly that astaxanthin (as opposed to carotenes in general) is a necessary nutrient for salmon, I will strongly stand by the assertion that it is used solely to color the fish. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/66 "2011-12-20T17:31:59Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > Grape juice is naturally clear, but when bottled or in concentrate, purple coloring is added. _White_ grape juice is clear. Concord grape juice is purple. Read the labe on Welsh’s grape juice. The only ingredient is grapes, no coloring. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/67 "2011-12-20T17:40:05Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > _White_ grape juice is clear. Concord grape juice is purple. Read the labe on Welsh’s grape juice. The only ingredient is grapes, no coloring. Tru dat - I’ve made my own juice from the Concord grapes that grow on our arbor. It is aggressively, skin-dyeingly purple. ---
**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, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/68 "2011-12-20T17:42:38Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > _White_ grape juice is clear. Concord grape juice is purple. Read the labe on Welsh’s grape juice. The only ingredient is grapes, no coloring. Lest there be any confusion: the juice from white/green grapes is clear(ish). The juice from red and black grapes is _usually_ clear(ish), too (the deep color of wine comes from steeping in their skins). I have no idea what the color of freshly squeezed Concord grapes is, but part of their deep coloring could have to do with macerating the juice with the skins. **Bartman** ’s post seems to indicate that the juice itself is, in fact, dark red or purple, but this is not the usual for red/black grapes. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/69 "2011-12-20T17:50:53Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Lest there be any confusion: the juice from white/green grapes is clear(ish). The juice from red and black grapes is _usually_ clear(ish), too (the deep color of wine comes from steeping in their skins). I have no idea what the color of freshly squeezed Concord grapes is, but part of their deep coloring could have to do with macerating the juice with the skins. **Bartman** ’s post seems to indicate that the juice itself is, in fact, dark red or purple, but this is not the usual for red/black grapes. I suppose that is true. The juice you’d get from squeezing skinless Condord grapes would be clearish (generally a pale yellow) but I think we were mostly reacting to **rowrrbazzle** ’s claim that purple coloring is added, which is untrue. The purple is from the juice process, which includes the skins. ---
**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, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/70 "2011-12-20T17:52:22Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > I suppose that is true. The juice you’d get from squeezing skinless Condord grapes would be clearish (generally a pale yellow) but I think we were mostly reacting to **rowrrbazzle** ’s claim that purple coloring is added, which is untrue. The purple is from the juice process, which includes the skins. Yes, you’ll get no argument from me there. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/71 "2011-12-20T19:44:20Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > Mint chocolate chip ice cream and margarine are two white foods that usually have color added to them. At one time the dairy lobby won a law that margarine could not be sold with the food coloring added and it was sold along a bit of yellow food coloring for the customer to mix in at home. That was just one battle in the war between butter and margarine. The dairy lobby played on fears of “consumers may be misled by the Evil Oleo!” to enact laws that forbade the sale of colored margarine. Margarine makers fought back by enclosing a little dye pack along with their undyed product so that consumers could do the coloring themselves. The Butter Lobby, no doubt fuming and tugging its beard in fury, retaliated by fighting for laws in some states requiring that margarine be dyed _pink_, making it look profoundly unappetizing. The Supreme Court ultimately overturned the mandatory-pink laws in 1898. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/72 "2011-12-20T20:44:08Z")
> [@Randy\_Seltzer](#): > > According to last week’s [SGU](http://www.theskepticsguide.org/), ketchup is naturally brown, and cola (i.e. the flavor of normal Coke and normal Pepsi) is naturally clear/colorless. So [Crystal Pepsi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Pepsi) was just normal Pepsi without without the normally added coloring. No it wasn’t. The ingredients (not to mention the taste) were different. For one thing, Pepsi has caffeine and Crystal Pepsi didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/73 "2011-12-20T20:46:29Z")
If you believe the ads, pork is the other white meat 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Parthol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/dec6dc/32.png) [@Parthol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parthol)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/74 "2011-12-21T06:49:08Z")
Wow… I didn’t expect my question to ignite such a far-ranging discussion! I appreciate all of your knowledge and opinions, though I’m leaning towards deciding that I simply acquired a false memory about ketchup somewhere along the line. Assuming I was simply misremembering the food, my best guess is that I was thinking of soda. Anyhow, thanks for the attempts at answering my question, and please, feel free to carry on with the topic! -P ---
**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 21, 2011, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/75 "2011-12-21T07:54:11Z")
> [@Parthol](#): > > Wow… I didn’t expect my question to ignite such a far-ranging discussion! I appreciate all of your knowledge and opinions, though I’m leaning towards deciding that I simply acquired a false memory about ketchup somewhere along the line. That must be it. I mean, ketchup is (mostly) tomatoes, and tomatoes are red. Shitty tomatoes are pink, but I can’t see any ketchup being naturally white, nor how you would think that is possible. Memory is a funny thing, and you must be conflating it with something else. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/76 "2011-12-21T08:18:12Z")
I don’t know why people doubt that the red color of ketchup comes from tomatoes. Just about any sauce made from concentrated tomatoes will be red. Tomato-based pasta sauces are red. So are tomato-based BBQ sauces. Also, food coloring is not listed on the ingredients list of commercial ketchup (I just checked my bottle of Heinz). As for other colors of ketchup, such as green and purple - I’m sure these have (had?) food coloring in them, and may have been made from yellow tomatoes. As for jam, I have never seen food coloring on the ingredient list of any jam in the U.S. My mother used to make strawberry jam, and it had a deep red color without the addition of coloring. Getting back to the OP: Thai iced tea gets its bright orange color from food coloring. Red velvet cake is just a plain cake with a bunch of red food coloring added to it. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/77 "2011-12-21T08:53:56Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > The cited website is produced by the Salmon farming industry, so it’s not surprising that they’ll try and give the impression that farmed salmon aren’t artificially colored. > > However, carefully reading the article, I don’t find any actual claim that astaxanthin is a necessary nutrient for salmon. The article often says astaxanthin is a nutrient, and sort of says that the general class of carotenoids are necessary, but it kind of glosses over whether this particular carotenoid is necessary. In fact, this article admits that chicken farmers use astaxanthin in feed to color egg yolks. > > Now many, many articles state that without astaxanthin, farmed salmon has greyish flesh. If astaxanthin was a necessary nutrient, how could any farmed salmon have survived long enough for anyone to know what color their flesh was? > > So, unless someone can produce a cite stating explicitly that astaxanthin (as opposed to carotenes in general) is a necessary nutrient for salmon, I will strongly stand by the assertion that it is used solely to color the fish. Not only doesn’t it say it’s a necessary nutrient, it says the opposite: > [@](#): > > The amount of deposition varies by species (Coho salmon deposits more and therefore its flesh is redder) but has no impact on the overall health of the fish itself. Rather, **color of salmon flesh is a consumer issue** with pink or redder salmon being viewed as more desirable by the purchaser. But although you don’t **have to** supply farmed salmon with carotenes, they are a natural part of wild salmon diet. So yes, carotenes are added to farmed salmon feed solely to get the “natural” pink color, but it’d be wrong to claim that farmed salmon is naturally white. It’s the same fish and merely a question of diet. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/78 "2011-12-21T11:44:19Z")
Real balsamic vinegar is black but the cheap balsamic you buy from the supermarket is often sweetened red wine vinegar with caramel color added to dye it black. ---
**Author:** ![willthekittensurvive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@willthekittensurvive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/willthekittensurvive)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 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/606752/79 "2011-12-21T13:21:04Z")
lots of meat substute made out are grey soyapaste, I think they add color to it ---
**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 21, 2011, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-common-food-that-we-think-of-as-colored-but-which-is-naturally-white/606752/80 "2011-12-21T13:58:38Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > I suppose that is true. **The juice you’d get from squeezing skinless Condord grapes would be clearish** (generally a pale yellow) but I think we were mostly reacting to **rowrrbazzle** ’s claim that purple coloring is added, which is untrue. The purple is from the juice process, which includes the skins. Are you sure of that? The consensus of several posts so far (which agrees with what I think I know) is that Concord grapes are different – That they are indeed deep purple through and through. From wikipedia: [Concord grape - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concord_%28grape%29) (emphasis added): > [@](#): > > Concord grapes are used for grape juice, and their distinctive purple color has led to grape flavored soft drinks and candy being artificially colored purple. Recently, white grape juice with a milder flavor and less ability to stain fabric, primarily from Niagara grapes, has risen in popularity at the expense of Concord juice. **The dark colored Concord juice** is used in some churches as a non-alcoholic alternative to wine in the service of communion. Concord grapes are also made into Kosher wine.[1] [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=3) [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=5)