Natural Blue Food Coloring Butterfly Pea Flowers

Blue is a strange and uncommon color for food, but specially in South East Asia, a natural blue food coloring from butterfly pea flowers (Clitoria ternatea) is widely used for desserts, like jelly. A few years ago we stumbled upon a blue Thai rice, which becomes more and more popular nowadays. The blue natural food coloring from the butterfly pea flowers, isn´t just an optical gag, in Asia it´s used because of its positive health effects. In Burma, the edible flowers are fried in a batter and in Thailand the blue color is often used for a blue coconut icecream and for a blue syrup. Butterfly pea flowers are a natural antioxidant
and containing blue proanthocyanidin. The flowers are very fertile and with just a few, added to cold water and cooked for about 10 minutes we got a very, deep blue extract. This extract You can use now as a natural food coloring for rice, pasta-making, desserts, cakes and alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails and beverages.

© The Foodist
Image: Natural blue food coloring, Butterfly Pea Flowers (Clitoria ternatea)
Photographer: Kitisak “Nat” Jaidee

To order Butterfly pea flowers: Clitoria ternatea Butterfly Pea Flower