red dye ('akkar)

Ingredients

safflower, vinegar, pomegranate seeds, impure soda, water

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

Safflower is reacted with either vinegar or pomegranate seed juice. Alternatively, desiccated safflower is pulverized, sieved, mixed with water, and filtered through woolen cloth. Impure soda is then kneaded with the safflower until the red color is released, and the mass is washed until the filtrate is colorless to yield the 'akkar dye (p. 242).

Evidence

"Safflower may be reacted with vinegar or the juice of pomegranate seeds to yield a red dye ('akkar). A variation of this method involves pulverization of the dessicated safflower, which is then passed through a hair sieve, water added, and the mixture filtered through a woolen cloth."

Remarks

Safflower was a traditional dye for leather and paper in Egypt and Mesopotamia (p. 242).