How to Dye Noodles With Food Coloring

Do you need a new craft to cure boredom for your kids? Or, maybe you are just tired of plain pasta meals. Try dyeing noodles with food coloring. Because of vinegar being used, these colorful noodles can be used to make collages or jewelry, in addition to being eaten. This craft takes little money or time and is so simple that your children can help. Serve colored noodles the next time you make pasta and make dinner time interesting.

Things You'll Need

• Noodles Food coloring Vinegar Containers Paper towels Zip lock bags

Instructions

1. Decide which noodles to use. Any type of noodle will work if it's to be eaten or used for collages, while noodles with holes in them, like elbow noodles, work well for jewelry. If you're using spaghetti noodles then you may have to break them in half in order to dye them completely.

2. Get the food coloring. Most food coloring bottles are sold in groups of four colors. These are red, yellow, blue and green. You can also blend these four colors to make other colors, such as red and blue for purple or yellow and red for orange.

3. Fill the containers. Put 1 to 2 handfuls of whichever noodles you decide to use. Use one container for each color. If you're worried about staining your plastic containers then try using glass. Zip lock bags can also be used.

4. Color the noodles. Add 1 tbsp. of vinegar to the noodles and 4 to 5 drops of food coloring. If you want a more intense color then double the amount of drops added. Stir the contents of the container until the noodles have been completely covered. You can do this by using a spoon, your hands or putting a lid on the container and gently shaking it. Wear gloves if using your hands so the food coloring doesn't stain them.

5. Wait for the colors to set. Place any containers you filled with noodles aside until they reach the desired colors. It could take hours to reach the shade or brightness of color you want. Next, pour the noodles onto paper towels so they can dry. Once they are completely dry sort them by colors into zip lock bags. They can now be used for crafts or can be cooked and eaten.

Tips & Warnings

• If using the noodles just for crafts, vinegar can be substituted with rubbing alcohol. Don't eat the colored noodles if alcohol is used.