Colorants play an important role in improving the appearance and quality of food. Many food manufacturers have begun to choose natural pigments instead of synthetic pigments.
Natural pigments are mainly used as food colorants, and are often used in seasonings such as soy sauce and vinegar, as well as coloring candies, wine, ice cream, cooked meat products, and jellies.
1. Natural carotene pigment is extracted from palm fruit and is a widely recognized natural pigment. Palm fruit is rich in carotene, containing about 33% cis and trans α-carotene, 65% β-carotene, and 2% other carotenoids.
2. Curcumin is made from the rhizome of turmeric and refined by organic solvent extraction. It has a bright yellow color, strong coloring power, good thermal stability, safety and non-toxicity, and is considered to be one of the most valuable edible natural pigments for development.
3. Gardenia yellow pigment is a carotenoid pigment extracted from gardenia fruit. It is the main colorant in gardenia fruit. It is non-toxic and highly safe. The main components are crocin and crocetin. Gardenia yellow is easily soluble in water and can be immediately dissolved into a transparent yellow liquid in water. It has a good dyeing effect on protein and starch.
4. Safflower yellow, also known as saffron yellow, is a food additive made from safflower petals and refined by water extraction. It is easily soluble in water and almost insoluble in anhydrous ethanol. Safflower yellow has a good coloring performance on starch and a poor coloring performance on protein. It is often used to enhance the yellow or orange color in food.
