Every pigment has a plant (or a microbe), a place, and a person behind it.
Indigo
For three thousand years, blue came from one plant.
Indigofera leaves don't contain blue. They contain indican — a colourless precursor that oxidises into the deep indigo we recognise only after the leaf is crushed, fermented, and exposed to air.
Saffron
One hectare of saffron yields about ten kilograms of dried spice.
Each saffron crocus blooms for a single morning. The red threads are hand-picked from each flower — roughly 150 flowers per gram of dried saffron — which is why it's the most expensive spice on Earth.
Beetroot
Betanin is one of the rare natural pigments that survives heat.
Most plant pigments break down when heated. Betanin — the pigment that makes beetroot red — actually becomes more vivid under heat, which is why it's the workhorse of pink and magenta in plant-based food.
Spirulina
Phycocyanin gives spirulina its blue colour.
Cyanobacteria were among the first oxygen-producing life forms on Earth. Phycocyanin, the blue pigment they share with spirulina, is one of the few natural blues that survives both heat and a neutral pH.
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