The colour of food is one of the most important aspects in food presentation and has a great potential to enhance or detract from the visual appearance of the finished dish.
The psychology of colour is a complex subject and an individual's association with a certain colour can subconsciously evoke many different emotions.
Specific colours are universally associated with various different things therefore in some cases the same colours can have conflicting meanings:
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Vibrant Colours - energy & vitality
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Pastel Colours - calmness & comfort or pale & insipid
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Greens - health, nature & freshness or mould
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Blues - toxicity & poisonous berries, artificial colourings (blue smarties, ice pops)
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White - purity & cleanliness or pale & insipid
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Black - inedible charred, burnt food or elegance & sophistication
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Browns - pleasure (i.e. chocolate, golden brown pastries) or inedible overcooked food or rotting fruit and vegetables
So it's essential to make sure that the food you are serving is an appropriate colour, otherwise its visual appeal can be greatly reduced.
Combining Colours
Consideration of the way that colours are combined in a dish is important. Too little colour can be dull and monotonous whilst too many colours can be chaotic and overpowering.
Techniques for combining colours can be categorised as:
Monotone Combinations
One colour or varying shades of a single colour - a green lettuce salad with avocado and pistachios.
Similar Colour Combinations
Two or more similar colours - banana ice cream with mango and strawberries.
Contrasting Colour Combinations
Two or more contrasting colours - sliced tomatoes with basil
