How to Dye Rice With Food Coloring
Rice dyed with food coloring is a safe and nontoxic alternative to colored sand and glitter. It can be used similarly in craft projects, and easily adheres with all-purpose glue or paste. This recipe yields approximately 4 oz., or 1/2 cup, of dyed rice. However, it can be repeated as many times as necessary to make as many different colors as you desire.
Things You'll Need
- White vinegar
- Jar
- Liquid food coloring
- Uncooked white rice
- Fine sieve
- Old newspaper
- Sandwich bag or container
Instructions
-
-
1
Pour 1/4 cup of undiluted white vinegar into a clean, empty wide-mouth jar. Add three or four drops of the food coloring of your choice, and stir to combine.
-
2
Pour 1/2 cup of uncooked white rice into the jar containing the colored vinegar. Seal the lid as tightly as possible.
-
-
3
Shake the jar vigorously until all of the rice appears to be dyed evenly. Place the jar on a flat surface, and allow it to sit undisturbed for about five minutes.
-
4
Pour the contents of the jar through a fine sieve over the sink to drain out the colored water. Spread the rice in a single layer on large sheets of old newspaper. Place it in a sunny location to dry for at least 30 minutes, or until no more moisture remains.
-
5
Store the dry dyed rice in a zipper lock sandwich bag or an airtight plastic container. Repeat the process to make additional colors. Use the dyed rice in craft projects.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
You can combine primary food coloring colors to create new colors, if desired. Simply add two drops of each color to the vinegar, instead of three or four drops of one color. For example, red and yellow will make orange, red and blue will make purple, and blue and yellow will make green.
References
- Photo Credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthewbland/3111904731/
More Like This
Comments
-
Kelsmiley, instead of vinegar use alcohol! And it come out red!
-
I forgot vinegar what will happen?
-
kelsmiley
Jun 26, 2010
This was such an easy project! I have a few points to add though: 1) run your fingers through the drying rice about half way through the drying time. This will prevent wet pockets. 2) tape or weigh down your newspaper before spreading out your rice. If even the slightest breeze comes up, your rice will be everywhere. 3) if anyone has any tips for getting RED rice versus pink, please post it. Assuming this might happen, I trippled the dye amount and my rice still came out pink.
