Beets bleed red but a chemistry tweak can create a blue hue

Results could pave the way for a rare natural blue pigment to color food, clothes and more

beets and blue dye made from beets

The powdered food additive maltodextrin (right) gets a splash of color from a new blue dye derived from red beets.

Avalon_Studio/E+/Getty Images plus (left); E.L. Bastos (right)

Beet juice is red.