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Feasibility Of Using Turmeric as an Ingredient In Making Watercolour!
CHEM: 4TH Quarter Investigative Project !
Joaquin Aldeguer!
H3B 3!
Group Oxygen!

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Can turmeric powder be used as an alternative to food colouring in

watercolour?

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INTRO
Watercolour paint is made by mixing pigments with a binder, and then applying it
with water to a support or paper. The water evaporates and the binder then fixes the
pigment to the support. The type of watercolour we will be choosing is the solid watercolour that dries when it hardens. Most paint companies use regular and normal colouring
dyes in making their water colours since it is said to be easier, however in this research,
we will find out whether organic colouring products such as turmeric powder would work in
watercolour.
Turmeric is a plant. It has a warm, bitter taste and is used extensively as a food
flavouring and colorant. It is also a primary component of curry powders and some
mustards. The spice of turmeric also has a long tradition in Asian medicine to treat
problems, such as flatulence or hemorrhage. The reason to why we chose turmeric as our
main product is because it almost has the exact colour compared to atsuete, our group
mates product, and also since the product of turmeric is available here in the Philippines.
Our experiment aims to prove if turmeric could provide enough food colour compared to
typical food colouring.
The main objective of this research paper is for us to find out whether turmeric
powder is a possible ingredient to create watercolour. We have researched the possible
products & materials to help us create our watercolour, and most of the sources mentioned
food colouring. We then began to further research and checked for more organic food
colouring. Using turmeric gives an advantage, and it would help since it is an organic
product that can be easily produced. Turmeric can also be helpful, since farmers who are
familiar with this plant can use it as a source of extra income, thus boosting the countrys
economy.
We started this experiment to help anybody who needed cheap and effective
watercolour, and at the same time help with farmers who produce turmeric. Weve used
various products such as white vinegar, baking soda, cornstarch, and light corn syrup in
producing our water-colour paint.
After three days, the mixture would harden, and is ready for use. The researchers
applied two different watercolour paints on a paper to compare their colour consistency.
Doing this helps the researchers figure out which watercolour works better.
The researchers were separated into two groups to make their watercolour. Atsuete
was used by one group, and the other, turmeric. The results of the first test proved that
atsuete showed more colour consistency than turmeric. Afterwards, the second and third
tests showed that turmeric was the one who had more colour consistency.
After a few more tests, the experiments have proven that the watercolour with
turmeric has more colour consistency than of atsuete since the shade of watercolour of

turmeric is thicker compared to the watercolour shade of atsuete, thus proving turmeric
powder to be a better watercolour forming material.

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Experiment Design

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1. Product Making
a) Materials

- chopped turmeric
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- 4 tbsp baking soda
- 1/2 tbsp light corn syrup
- 1tbsp cornstarch
- beaker
- container
b) Procedure

Prepare all measured materials & get a beaker.

Combine baking soda and vinegar. Mix until bubbling stops.

Add the cornstarch and corn syrup. Mix until powder has dissolved completely.

Place the mixture in a small container and add some of the turmeric powder.

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Mix well. Afterwards, place in a dry place for about 2 days.

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c) Scientific Drawing

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2. Product Testing
a) Materials

- 5g each from the 2 homemade watercolour

- bowl of water
- paintbrush
- palette plate
- bond paper
- container
b) Procedure

Drop a couple of drops onto the dab of water-colour on your palette plate - just
enough to make the watercolour liquid

Dip your brush into the watercolour liquid on your palette. Paint a line on the
paper.

Evenly spread paint on the line. Wait for about 4 minutes.

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Repeat steps 1-3 by using homemade watercolour and compare results.

c) Scientific Drawing

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d)
Independent Variable - two types of watercolour
Dependent Variable - fullness of colour density
Controlled Variable - number of brushes, paper

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e) Testing the watercolour
RATING

DESCRIPTION
1

Colour cannot be seen

Colour is hard to see

Colour is seen but still has some lightness

Color can be seen clearly

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WATERCOLOUR

TURMERIC WATERCOLOUR

ATSUETE WATERCOLOUR

TRIAL 1!

TRIAL 2

TRIAL 3

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Conclusion
To conclude, I believe that turmeric powder can be used not just for food, but to also
create water-colour. Based on our researches, and with the help of our experiments,
turmeric powder is proven to create watercolour. As a result, turmeric powder can be seen
with a rating of 3, thus making it darker compared to atsuete. We therefore conclude that
turmeric powder is a product that can be used in creating watercolour.

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Recommendations
For future studies, and for students who have a similar research, I would
recommend them to take the process seriously, and allot their time as well, since it only
took us a week to finish the making of our product. It would be better if more time were put
to this study. I also recommend to place the product in a cool and dry place so that the
mixture would be better and fine. Our product had some water left inside, which normally
should not happen.

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Sources:
Kluwer, Wolters (2009). Turmeric. Retrieved from : http://www.drugs.com/npc/
turmeric.html
Cox, Lauren (2013). Turmeric. Retrieved from : http://www.livescience.com/41760turmeric-supplement-facts.html
Turmeric, co. (2009) Turmeric Powder. Retrieved from : http://www.webmd.com/
vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-662-turmeric.aspx?
activeingredientid=662&activeingredientname=turmeric
Michaelis, Pamela (2010) Watercolour. Retrieved from : http://
www.collectorsguide.com/fa/fa043.shtml
Watercolour, co. (2009) Watercolour. Retrieved from : http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/
articles/w/what-is-a-watercolour/