Colorful Burger Buns Are A Vibrant Way To Liven Up Any 4th Of July Party

When looking for fun ideas for an upcoming 4th of July event, making your own burger buns is a challenging yet fulfilling prospect. You can make the festivities even more festive by using food dye to color your homemade buns patriotic shades, including red and blue. Friends and family are sure to appreciate the effort, and you'll have a picture-perfect Independence Day spread to share on social media.

First, you'll need a trusty dough recipe to serve as the base for your buns. Essential ingredients consist of all-purpose flour, yeast, dairy products, olive oil, and other components. To infuse the bread with bright coloring, you'll also need food dye in a gel or paste. Food coloring gets added directly to the dough, which is then kneaded to ensure that it's evenly distributed. Keep in mind that the more food coloring you add, the brighter your buns will be.

According to Healthline, food coloring is largely considered safe for consumption. However, many people have concerns over some of the ingredients in red and blue food dyes, which are linked to a higher risk of cancer in some studies. As a result, you may be interested in using organic agents to dye your burger buns this 4th of July.

Replicating blue coloring with organic items is a bit challenging, since not many foods are naturally blue. Blueberries are a natural choice, but they will impact the flavor of your buns. Additionally, they have a tendency to turn green when mixed with other ingredients, so they might not be the best fit when it comes to changing the color of bread dough.

Surprisingly, red cabbage can be a good alternative when looking for an all-natural blue food dye. Start by boiling a few cabbage leaves for up to 15 minutes. At this point, take the cabbage water and strain it to eliminate the leaves. Now, take the mixture and cook it down until it thickens to a syrup-like consistency, then add a small amount of baking soda. You should notice the mixture going from a purplish hue to a blue color as baking soda is added. However, baking soda must be added in small increments to get the desired color. Once the dye reaches the correct shade, you can incorporate it into your burger bun recipe.

When it comes to red coloring, beet juice can create bold and vibrant colors using an all-natural substance. This organic food dye recipe calls for one large beet, which will provide about three tablespoons of juice/food dye. If you think you might need more dye to achieve the proper patriotic color, feel free to use more than one beet.

After washing the beet, take a paper towel and place it on top of a plate. Next, take the beet and grate it over the plate, allowing the paper towel to catch the grated pieces. Once the beet is completely grated, take the paper towel, making sure to keep the beet pieces in place, and wring it out over your dough. If a few errant beat pieces make their way into the dough, no worries, just remove them before kneading. Also, keep in mind that beet juice can stain, so you may want to wear gloves to protect your hands from the organic dye. 

These food dye hacks ensure that you can serve guests bright and wholesome fare during your Independence Day cookout.