Meats and Sausages
Coloring Agents
The following spices, powdered dried vegetables, and liquid seasonings can be employed to create custom colors when making vegetarian products.
- Paprika - orange
- Smoked paprika - dark red
- Curry - yellow
- Saffron - yellow
- Turmeric - yellow (used in curry)
- Caramel - brown (burnt sugar)
- Anatto - yellow/orange
- Ketchup, tomato paste - red
- Beet root - red, burgundy
- Creamy Horseradish - white
- Soy Sauce - black
Food and Drug Approved Red 4 is a great red colorant; however, it is a cochineal extract that is made from bugs, so it is an animal product and does not conform to the requirements of pure vegetarians. It is used in the manufacture of artificial flowers, paints, crimson ink, rouge, and other cosmetics and is routinely added to food products and certain brands of juice most notably those of the ruby-red variety.
Sausages made with dark spices will appear darker, black pepper is more visible than the white, rice and tofu are lighter than potatoes, textured vegetable protein is yellow, lentils are green or red, buckwheat groats grey, the split green pea is green and beans come in many shapes and colors.
Anatto
Annatto is an orange-red condiment and food coloring derived from the seeds of the achiote tree (Bixa orellana).
Ground annatto.
Whole annatto seeds resemble buckwheat grouts in size and shape.
The colorant is typically prepared by grinding the seeds to a powder or paste. Ground annatto can be found in a spice section in a supermarket. It is often used to impart a yellow or orange color to foods but sometimes also for its flavor and aroma which is a combination of pepper and nutmeg. Annatto is widely used in many processed food products such as cheeses, dairy spreads, butter and margarine, custards, cakes and other baked goods, potatoes, snack foods, breakfast cereals, smoked fish, sausages, and more. Anatto stains metal surfaces fast, so wash utensils without delay.
Beets
Beet roots are quite hard, but produce a pretty burgundy-like color. Mixing beet juice with creamy horseradish produces a tasty product of a wonderful pink color.
Beets produce a dark burgundy color juice which becomes absolutely beautiful pink when mixed with cream or white protein emulsion.
Beet powder creates an instant soup when mixed with water. It is a great colorant, although, beet juice paints everything red it touches, our hands included. However, clean-up is easy and requires only water.
Vegetarian sausage recipes are listed in the Sausage Recipe Index
