Independence Day is coming up on July 4. Traditional colors for this day are red, white, and blue. People often celebrate with a picnic, potluck, or barbecue for which they wish to serve food in patriotic colors. Many foods are red, white, OR blue. Put the right ones together and you get patriotic cuisine. Ideally, choose foods that naturally turn out the color you want, rather than use artificial colors. Here are some ideas to get you started.
Red Foods
Many fruits and some vegetables are red. Red spices can color light-colored foods. Most meat is red but rarely retains its color after cooking.
Fruit and sweet vegetables: cherries, cranberries, red raspberries, strawberries, watermelon.
Vegetables: red beans, red peppers, red radishes, tomatoes.
Meat: elk, ostrich, pepperoni, rare beef, salmon, summer sausage.
Miscellaneous: cranberry juice, jello (cherry, strawberry, etc.), red velvet cake, red wine, red wine vinegar, tomato sauce.
White Foods
A few fruits are white. Some vegetables are white, and many can be grown without light so that they are white. Many types of fish have white meat. Most dairy products are white unless colored with something else.
Fruits and sweet vegetables: apples (peeled), bananas (peeled), coconut, lychees, pears (peeled), white nectarines, white peaches.
Vegetables: button mushrooms, cauliflower, great northern beans, rice, white asparagus, white icicle radishes, white onions, white potatoes, white sweet corn.
Meat: catfish, crappie, panfish, scallops.
Dairy products: cottage cheese, cream, cream cheese, milk, plain yogurt, sour cream, vanilla ice cream, white cheese (swiss, mozzerella, etc.).
Miscellaneous: country gravy, flour, grits, marshmallows, mayonnaise, noodles, tofu, tortillas, white bread, white sugar, white vinegar, white wine.
Blue Foods
Very few naturally blue foods exist. Therefore, blue appeals less to diners and can actually function as an appetite suppressant. Use it sparingly unless you’re on a diet or want to discourage people from eating too much.
Fruits and sweet vegetables: blueberries.
Vegetables: all-blue potatoes (peeled or with skins), blue-skinned potatoes (skin on), blue corn.
Red cabbage starts out sort of purple and white, but when blanched in water with a base (such as baking soda) it turns blue.
Miscellaneous: Berry Blue jello, Berry Blue Kool-Aid, bleu cheese, blue corn chips, blue cornbread, blue jelly beans, blue M&Ms, blue corn tortillas, curacao.
Red-White-and-Blue Dishes
Various websites such as About.com, Cooks.com, RecipeTips, and RecipeZaar offer 4th of July recipe lists. Most tricolor recipes are desserts. Many stores carry bags of candy or marshmallows with pieces dyed red, white, and blue. A rarer find, usually in health food or natural market stores, is a bag of red, white, and blue tortilla chips or potato chips.
Red, White, and Blue Buffalo Burgers
Red, White, and Blue Cole Slaw Salad
Red, White, and Blue Jello Flag
Red, White, & Blue Potato Salad
Red, White, & Blue Strawberry Appetizer
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