19 Wacky Uses for
McCormick® Food Coloring

Make white rice appear buttered without adding any actual butter. Add a few drops of McCormick Yellow Food Coloring to the cooking water before adding the rice.
Tint wallpaper paste. Add a few drops of McCormick Food Coloring to wallpaper paste so you can see how well you're covering the sheets of wallpaper. Do not use too much food coloring, otherwise the color may bleed through the wallpaper.
Determine whether a toilet tank is leaking. Put enough McCormick Food Coloring in the toilet tank to change the color of the water. Let the colored water sit overnight without flushing the toilet. If the water in the bowl has changed color in the morning, your tank is leaking into the bowl and wasting water. Stop the leak by adjusting the lift chain or replacing the flapper.
Make your own gift wrapping paper. Add five drops McCormick Food Coloring to one cup water, making one cup for each one of the four colors. Stack several sheets of white tissue paper on top of each other, fold them in half, in half again, and in half again. Dip each one of the four corners into a different color solution without soaking the paper. Let the tissue dry on newspaper, unfold, then iron flat.
Color freshly cut carnations or white roses. Mix any color McCormick Food Coloring in warm water and place the flower stems in the solution overnight. The stems will absorb the colors by morning, carrying the color to the petals, revealing lively designs.
Identify hard-boiled eggs. If you intend to store hard-boiled eggs alongside raw eggs in the refrigerator, add a few drops of McCormick Food Coloring (red, blue, or green) to the water when boiling the eggs to tint them mildly.
Make colorful macaroni jewelry for kids. Add a few drops of McCormick Food Coloring to a bowl of water. Dip dry macaroni noodles in the water, drain, and dry. Then make necklaces by stringing the colored macaroni noodles together.
Paint snow. Put a teaspoon of McCormick Food Coloring in a spray bottle filled with water and let kids spray designs on snow.
Make fried chicken golden brown. Add a few drops of yellow McCormick Food Coloring to vegetable oil before frying. The chicken will absorb the food coloring and become a golden brown.
Color the water in a fish tank. Adding a few drops of McCormick Food Coloring will make a colorful environment without harming the fish.
Make noodles look more festive. Add ten drops of your favorite color of McCormick Food Coloring to the water used to cook noodles.
Recolor small bleach spots on clothing. Mix McCormick Food Coloring with water to make the proper shade and apply to the spot.
Color cream cheese for various holidays. Add a few drops of McCormick Food Coloring to the cream cheese and mix well.
Make fingerpaint. Mix two cups soap flakes, two cups liquid laundry starch, and five drops McCormick Food Coloring in a large bowl. Blend with a wire whisk until the mixture has the consistency of whipped cream. Or mix one-quarter cup Kingsford's Corn Starch with two cups cold water, boil until thick, pour into small containers, and color with food coloring.
Color mashed potatoes for a festive occasion. Add a few drops of McCormick Food Coloring to the mashed potatoes (green for St. Patrick’s Day, orange for Halloween, and red for Valentine’s Day).
Spot plaque on your teeth. Put ten drops of McCormick Red Food Coloring into a Dixie Cup, add on teaspoon of water, swirl well, then pour the red solution into you mouth, swish it around well, then spit out. Fill the Dixie Cup with clean water and rinse your mouth well. The remaining red stains on your teeth is plaque. Brush these areas well.
Make clown makeup. Mix two tablespoons Kingsford's Corn Starch, one tablespoon solid shortening, and several drops McCormick Food Coloring.
Hide a bleached area of carpeting. Mix a shade to match with McCormick Food Coloring and sponge it on the carpet fibers. Let dry well.
Make colorful glues. Fill an empty SueBee honey bear with Elmer's Glue-All and tint with a few drops of McCormick Food Coloring.