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Blue is not just a mood

It’s a viral food trend that’s taken over social media and menus across the city. Chefs tell us why...

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(Clockwise from top left) Glocal Junction’s Blue Dreams; Electric Lemonade at Delhi Pub Exchange, Smaaash; Electric Blue at Hard Rock Cafe; Blue Cool Coolers at Amar Colony; Kaitlyn’s Beer Garden Blue Bun Burger; Blue velvet turbine cake at Cafe Runway; A glass of blue wine; Jamjar Diner’s Bull Frog’ Long Island Iced Tea; Nara Thai’s Butterfly Pea Fried Rice; Blue tea at D:OH
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The colour blue is now throwing shade at last year’s favourite  — Millennial Pink. While Instagram feeds are clearly loving all hues of blue, eateries in the city are not far behind. From blue wine, lemonade, blue velvet cheesecake, blue rice to margaritas, teas and coolers.  It’s no longer just a mood, it’s also the it colour for drinks and food. Most recently, it made news as the coolest tipple — blue wine for 2018.

Raise a toast to Smurfs’s colour

Guzzling turquoise coloured wine is the new in thing. Dubbed Vindigo, vin bleu has been created by French entrepreneur René Le Bail. It’s a Chardonnay white wine, which is put through a pulp of red grape skin. A pigment in the skin then turns the wine a vibrant blue. And while the world raises a toast to vin bleu, it’s not the first time blue wine has made it to shelves. Prior to this, back in 2016,  a Spanish startup created a blue wine called Gïk, which was marketed as the world’s first blue wine. However, it was taken off shelves in just three days. That considered, it remains to be seen whether vin bleu, can replace the classic rosé. 

Blue is the new green

The blue food trend started with fitness conscious people adding spirulina, a blue-green microalgae, to their smoothies and lattes not only for its vibrant hue but also for its health benefits. The fad soon caught on, on social media, and you started seeing a lot more blue foods — from noodles, macarons, pancakes, burger buns and more, eateries back home too gave into the blue seduction. Head chef Prem Pradhan of Nara, Mumbai explains why. He says, “Green matcha has been around for a while and now blue’s here to take over, especially in the form of the butterfly pea flower that has the ability to turn any dish into variants of blue to violet without interfering with the original taste of the dish or the drink. This has led to many chefs and mixologists being obsessed with this hue and got them experimenting with it.” The butterfly pea flower is a neutral ingredient. It doesn’t have a strong dominating flavour, which makes it a versatile ingredient to play with. It imparts a lovely bluish hue to both food and drinks. Hence, it’s widely used as a natural colouring agent especially in an era where people want to refrain from synthetic products. And while spirulina is hot abroad, butterfly pea flower is gaining a fan base here, as it’s increasingly being used to colour food and drinks. Blue Curacao is another ingredient that mixologists are turning to, to naturally colour drinks blue.

A quest for cool

There is an emphasis on eating healthy and green, and creating food that not only pleases the palate but makes for a droolworthy picture. Hence, the stress is on avoiding artificial colours, and with access to ingredients like butterfly pea flower and blue curacao, both chefs and mixologists are not shying away from using them. Cyrus Irani, culinary director at Hard Rock Cafe shares, “Nowadays, people want to see unconventional colours in their food because they are gravitating towards having newer experiences at the dining table. Blue colour in food and drinks is therefore gradually gaining popularity. What was once restricted only to candies and hard boiled sweets is now finding its way into mainstream food. Since the association with bold blue colour is ‘cool’, there are more takers for it.”

Russell Dias, manager at Jamjar Diner, agrees and adds, “In this era of Instagram and social media in general, people are out looking for things that don’t only taste good but look good too. The colour blue creates a ‘theatrical’ effect, and that also explains why it has become popular with chefs and mixologists.”

Clearly, blue is no longer just a mood.

CARIBBEAN DELIGHT

Ingredients

  • 10 ml Blue Curacao
  • 60 ml Pineapple juice
  • 10 ml Sugar syrup
  • 45 ml Bacardi rum 
  • 15 ml Coconut milk 
  • 15 ml Fresh cream

Garnishing for rum

  • 5 gms Dessicated coconut 
  • 10 ml Blue Curacao 
  • Pineapple slice for garnish 
  • Glass Pilsner 

Method 

Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and give it a firm shake. Rim the Pilsner glass with dessicated coconut and few drops of Blue Curacao. Pour the mix in the glass filled with ice. Garnish with slice of pineapple.
Recipe courtesy: Chef Rajesh Shetty, executive chef, GVK Lounge

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