What comes to mind when you hear ‘pink’? Maybe Barbie? Fashion? or ladies? But food? Definitely not, I guess.
However, several foods are pink, and they have numerous health benefits.
From strawberry milk to pink lemonade, these foods are popping up everywhere. So, what exactly makes them pink?
The color comes from anthocyanins, antioxidants in fruits such as strawberries and raspberries. Anthocyanins also give red wine its color.
Pink foods are becoming very trendy lately. Some companies even claim their products are pink because they contain natural ingredients such as beetroot juice.
Others say they are pink because they are infused with color from natural sources such as beetroot juice or strawberries.
This article will highlight some of the popular and not-so-popular pink foods out there.
So, if you’re looking for a way to add a pop of pink to your next meal, look no further. We have something for everyone on our list.
1. Grapefruit
Grapefruit is a subtropical fruit recognized for its sweet to slightly bitter flavor. The orange-colored outer shell peels off to reveal an edible, delicious pink interior.
Grapefruits come in various colors, including red, white, and pink, depending on the type of flesh they produce. They are a good source of vitamin C and contain antioxidants.
They reduce cholesterol and have a low glycemic index, which helps to burn fat. These fruits contain a lot of putrescine and very little spermidine.
They also have around 2.5 times as much citric acid as orange juice and about 0.5 times as much as lemon juice.
2. Lychee
Lychees are small, juicy, pink-red edible fruits and are often used in desserts. They come in various shapes: heart, oval, and round. Lychees are among the types of pink and juicy foods.
When young, the tough outer skin is green, but as it ripens, it turns pink or red-pink. Lychees’ major constituents are water, sugars, proteins, and very little fat.
Additionally, they contain a lot of vitamin C. However, naturally occurring toxins in lychees cause fever, convulsions, and seizures.
They are dangerous when taken on an empty stomach because they influence the brain when the body’s sugar level is low.
3. Pickled Egg
Curing food in brine or vinegar is one way to preserve it so you can eat it months later.
Pickled eggs are hard-boiled eggs that have been cured similarly and are pink.
It is a popular food that offers wine at bars, pubs, and taverns worldwide.
Even though they contain a lot of fat and protein, you can separate the yolk to reduce the fat content.
In addition, they have a lot of cholesterol and carbohydrates but few calories.
4. Strawberry Cookies
The strawberry cookies are the ideal summer recipe—sweet, soft, simple, and wonderful.
You can top it with additional garnishes or drizzle it into something delicious, like chocolates. They bake quickly, in as little as 15 minutes.
You’ll need sugar, eggs, strawberries, flour, baking powder, vanilla, oil, and juice to prepare a fantastic meal.
They are high in calories, carbs, lipids, and proteins. In addition, they have trace levels of vitamin C, manganese, vitamin B9, antioxidants, sodium, potassium, calcium, iron, sugar, and cholesterol.
5. Pink Cheese
These are among the different types of pink foods. A distinctive aspect of the cheese-making industry is the millennial pink-hued cheese.
This cheese has a fresh milk flavor and a creamy, crumbly texture. To boost its richness, it is frequently combined with other fruits like apricots, strawberries, or cranberries.
Pink cheese is high in vitamins A and B-12, as well as zinc, phosphorus, and riboflavin. It is also an excellent source of protein, fats, and calcium.
6. Beets
This pink vegetable is a source of vitamins and nutrients. Its deep pink hue is due to the antioxidant betacyanin, which defends against common carcinogens.
Many names for beets are used worldwide, including table beet, garden beet, red beet, dinner beet, golden beet, and beetroot in British English.
Beet greens are a nutritious addition to your diet, so they’re not just for the root!
7. Lilly Pilly Berries
These little berries are indigenous to Australia and South-East Asia. They have firm, lustrous, pink, or reddish-purple skin and grow in clusters on trees.
Although they don’t taste great when eaten fresh, these fruits can be combined with other ingredients or turned into chutney.
Because of their potential to enhance the immune system against colds and flu, Australian Aborigines referred to these fruits as “medicine berries.”
These medical benefits are now derived from a high amount of vitamin C, antioxidants, anthocyanins, and folate, all of which keep our bodies healthy.
8. Pink Oyster Mushroom
Mushrooms are among the types of pink foods. The pink oyster is a mushroom with a distinct appearance. However, after cooking, the mushroom loses its pinkish color.
Nevertheless, it is a fantastic choice for vegetarians who wish to give their food a chewy, meaty feel.
9. Pink Peppercorns
Pink peppercorns aren’t just a pink variation of typical black pepper; they come from a different plant.
These “peppercorns,” the dried berries of the Baie Rose plant, have a moderate pepper taste and look and feel similar to regular peppercorns.
Pink peppercorns give salads and sauces a pop of color, whether mixed with ordinary pepper or used alone. They are useful in preventing colds and the flu and easing muscle tightness.
However, they are related to cashews; therefore, those with nut allergies would be better off avoiding them.
10. Pomegranate
This beautiful Asian fruit is among the types of pink foods. The bright pink-red jewel-like flesh contains tasty, juicy nectar surrounding the white seed.
Pomegranates are a superfood for the skin and heart. They are rich in phytochemicals, including flavonoids and polyphenols, which can help prevent the spread of many cancer types.
Additionally, each serving has more than 5 grams of fiber and is a great source of your recommended daily vitamin C intake.
11. Rhubarb
Rhubarb is a versatile vegetable that fits well in bread, cobblers, desserts, pies, and other pastries. When you cook the pink stems, they form a fibrous, sour stewed “fruit.”
The pink hue can also provide a lovely color to your gin and cocktails. Rhubarb is ideal for dieters because of its high fiber and oxalic acid content.
It is also high in potassium, iron, magnesium, iodine, phosphorus, and many other minerals.
12. Rose Wine
Rosé wine is a type of wine that ranges in color from a light peach blush to deep fuchsia. It is made by allowing the red grape skins to contact the juice briefly, usually between two and twenty hours.
This is in contrast to either removing them right away, as with white wine or allowing them to ferment alongside the wine, as with red wine.
Furthermore, it possesses the health advantages of white and red wine, including lowering cholesterol, safeguarding the brain, and having fewer calories than its counterparts.
13. Tuna
Tuna is among the different types of pink foods. It is a fish whose muscular flesh varies from pink to dark red, depending on the species.
Although the meat changes color when cooked, it is often eaten raw with sushi in Japan. This fish is a fantastic source of vitamin B12 and is high in protein.
14. Dragon Fruit
A cactus tree typically grows in Southeast Asia, Central America, and South America and produces dragon fruit. The fruit is huge and round, with thick, leathery pink and green skin.
The flesh is a rich crimson with small black seeds. It has a moderate, sweet flavor and is widely used to add color to beverages.
Dragon fruit is high in lycopene, vitamin C, and antioxidants, all of which help to protect our bodies from carcinogens.
15. Ham
Ham is a popular protein source, particularly for sandwiches. It is abundant in protein and iron, and lean cuts contain relatively little saturated fat.
Ham is made by preserving pork meat through wet or dry curing, with or without smoking.
It is available in a wide range of types worldwide, including regional delicacies like Westphalian ham and Spanish jamón.
16. Turkish Delight
Turkish delight is a favorite for pink foods, even though it won’t win any awards for being particularly healthy.
It is formed from a starch and sugar gel to which flavorings are added. Rose water is traditionally pink Turkish delight flavored, but citrus and mint flavors are also widely used.
17. Rainbow Carrots
These colorful carrots come in several colors, including deep pink, similar to classic orange carrots.
It is well known that carrots contain beta carotene and are a great source of vitamin A. Orange and rainbow carrots are both useful in soups like Carrot Ginger Soup.
18. Pink Wafer
Pink wafers are yet another pink food on this list. They are thin, crispy, light, and flat biscuits frequently used to garnish sweet dishes or ice cream.
They may also have crème between biscuits. Some are made with chocolate flavoring, while others have lemon flavoring.
Since they are so light, eating a couple of them won’t make you feel bad. They may also contain wheat, soy, sesame, nuts, eggs, or sesame.
These wafers are low energy and contain smaller amounts of fiber, proteins, carbs, lipids, and other salts.
19. Strawberry Ice Cream
Strawberry ice cream is a mixture of both ice cream and strawberries. It is pink or light red.
This simple homemade dish only needs ingredients, such as strawberries, sugar, honey, vanilla, or lemon juice with whipped cream.
You won’t want to miss the summertime sensations it can give you.
Strawberry ice cream gives us carbohydrates, fats, proteins, fats and sodium, potassium, dietary fiber, and sugar, and is high in calories.
20. Strawberry Pie
Strawberry pie is among the types of pink foods, and it mostly consists of strawberries. It is frequently offered with ice cream or whipped cream.
Even young children with no cooking expertise can make this dish because it is the greatest and easiest recipe.
You only need white sugar, vanilla extract, milk, mashed or cut-up strawberries, whipping cream, confectioners’ sugar, and graham cracker crust.
21. Strawberry Yogurt
The bacterial fermentation of milk produces yogurt. Lactose fermentation produces lactic acid, which causes tartness.
Many individuals dislike tart and sour flavors, so to offset their natural tartness, they are sweetened or flavored with various sweeteners, fruits, or other artificial flavors.
Similarly, strawberries can add taste to yogurt to provide customers with a truly unmatched yogurt experience.
22. Pink Radicchio
The pink-hued lettuce, originally from Italy, resembles flower petals. However, it is now available everywhere.
Their leaves can be used in salads because of their moderate, sweet flavor with bitter undertones. They can vary in size or shape since they are grown in different climates.
It has a soft bite resembling lettuce and a moderate, less harsh, almost sweet flavor. By soaking the radicchio in water, you can also remove its bitterness.
They have anti-inflammatory antioxidants and vitamin E. In addition, they contain iron, copper, and vitamin K.
23. Strawberry Jello Salad
Strawberry jello salad is a dessert dish with fruit, gelatin, and occasionally grated carrots or other vegetables.
It is also known as gelatin salad, jelly salad, jelly dish, or congealed salad. The other ingredients could be pretzels, marshmallows, cottage cheese, or cream cheese.
It is one of the many pink foods on this list. It also contains sugar, dietary fiber, calcium, iron, salt, potassium, vitamin A, and vitamin C.