Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Tutorial: Coloring cheese

I love reading all the wonderful bento blogs online. Blogs such as Hawai'i's Bento Box, Bentolicious, and BentoLunch.net leave me in awe. I get so many great tips and tricks from them. I also have a growing collection of Bento books which I love to leaf through time and again for inspiration. I wish there were more out there in English (though my husband is glad there isn't!).

One helpful tip I learned recently was from Pikko on how to color cheese with food coloring. There are other ways to do it, such as using food-safe markers, but for some reason they don't work for me. I think I need to buy some new markers. It just tends to leave a blotchy, 'colored-in' look. So when I saw this method, I had to give it a try and ... it worked great!

When making Willow's lunch earlier today, I took some photos so you guys can see for yourselves.

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You just need a cookie cutter, slice of cheese (I used White American), a toothpick and some food coloring (mine's neon yellow ...or is it green? I dunno, but it came out green so it's good)

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Cut your cheese with whatever cookie cutter you're using. I chose a froggy.

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It's a good idea to place it on some paper towels or something you don't mind getting dye on.

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Add a few drops of food dye to the cheese

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Then roll it in as evenly as you can with a toothpick.

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I let it sit a few seconds and then wiped the excess off with the same toothpick, until it looks smooth, sorta. Then allowed it to dry fully. Drying will also smoothen it a little I found, so the lines aren't so visible.

froggy
Lastly, add your features or any other additions and place it in your lunch box! I think this will be a neat thing to do at Christmas time. Picture red stockings, green Christmas trees ... so many fun possibilities.

And that little thing above the frog is a fly :b

40 comments:

Eschelle Westwood Mumfection said...

super cute i love the fly!! you should try making a tongue for him lol !

Kelly Polizzi said...

thanks eschelle, i thought about doing a fruit leather tongue actually but just didnt bother.

KidsDreamWork said...

The colouring effect seems good and smooth! Thanks for sharing the technique! And love the little touch up of the fly with the frog! :D

Kelly Polizzi said...

Thanks, and for being sweet about my fly-gone-wrong lol.

Kelly said...

That is so cool! I cannot wait to start making these things for my son!

Jenni Price said...

This is so creative! It turned out great!

Tracey M. said...

Wow! It's been a while since I've visited and my how you've grown (your site that is)! Such wonderful things you are doing. This frog cheese idea is absolutely adorable. I left a comment for you at my recipe blog, thanks again for the inspiration!

I'm a full-time mummy said...

Ooo! Too cute! I always like looking at your posts! Very creative and cute!

kitten said...

You make it look so easy! :)

Angeleyes said...

I have that same cutter... from Wilton! hehehehe

Thanks for the tutorial! Now I have to go find some liquid coloring!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful! Thank you for the tutorial. Your frog is adorable. I have the same feelings when I see the other bento blogs out there - including yours! You make it look so easy! How do you figure out how much dye to use for the right color tone?

Lia Chen said...

Coloring the cheese really make an awesome effect. I love it! Cute froggy on your sandwich (^.^)

Kelly Polizzi said...

Thanks Kelly! He is going to love it.

Kelly Polizzi said...

Thanks so much Jenni!

Kelly Polizzi said...

Hey Tracey! Good to hear from you. I am heading over to read it now!

Kelly Polizzi said...

full-time Mummy: thank you! So glad you like them :)

Kelly Polizzi said...

kitten: it really was!! :) If you don't mind getting a little food coloring on your fingers!

Kelly Polizzi said...

Angeleyes, yes I got it from Wilton. I think most of the world's cookie cutters come from them haha

Kelly Polizzi said...

Stretching My Imagination: Thank you, it really is simple and quick. Even fun, to do. I guessed at the amount. Just trial and error really. For the frog I ended up doing about 4 drops like the one in the pic and that seemed to work well.

Kelly Polizzi said...

Thanks Lia Chen :)

Bar 7 Ranch said...

Awesome tutorial Kelly! Thanks so much! Im going to have to try this asap!

Kelly Polizzi said...

Bar 7 Ranch: Thanks a lot. I'm glad you liked it. If you try it, be sure to post piccies!

Glory said...

That's Awesome. Thanks. =D

Kelly Polizzi said...

thanks glory :)

Mommyof2girlz/StephD said...

That froggy is so cute!!!!

Kelly Polizzi said...

thanks :)

Carissa said...

That is too stinkin' cute!! I love it

Kelly Polizzi said...

Carissa: thanks a lot!

Emily Ng said...

Oh, the frog is cute & the fly too. :) Thanks for sharing the coloring idea, may be I should try this too, must easier than using egg sheet. ;)

Unknown said...

Love the fly hehe! your a right pro now look at you!

Kelly Polizzi said...

Emily Ng, thanks. thats exactly what i thought after making it. Beats making an egg sheet every time!

Kelly Polizzi said...

Nay: haha when ya gonna join me?

Amber said...

You have the most amazing lunch ideas!

I've nominated you for an award on my page.

http://glutenfreemotherhood.blogspot.com

Look for the versatile blogger award post!

Elspeth said...

That is so cute! My question is, how do you get the frog, or anything else, to stick to the sandwich during the transition from home to school cafeteria? Any suggestions would be appreciated, as I am new to this whole bento thing.

Emma's Lunch said...

Thanks so much for sharing this tip! The frog came out great! :)

by the way, don't know if I told you but I linked your pudding & berry trifle on my blog. In the left sidebar under the title recipes I want to try :)

Kelly Polizzi said...

wow thank you Amber!

Kelly Polizzi said...

Elspeth to get the cheese to stick you could spread some mayo or something similar on the back. If it's fruit leather I used to decorate a sandwich I will stick peanut butter on the back of it.

Kelly Polizzi said...

Emma's lunch: thank you. And thanks for the link up!

Elspeth said...

Thanks, Kelly! I'll try that.

the cape on the corner said...

wow, how creative! and i love the name of your blog, too funny. stopping by from the girl creative.

www.thecapeonthecorner.blogspot.com

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