# Homebrew No-Stain Fake Blood



## kakugori (Aug 26, 2013)

A slightly different recipe from most I've found online. Disclaimer: it doesn't stain me, but that doesn't mean it won't stain anything ever! Test first. Also test for allergic reaction, just in case - remember, this is the internet.

Ingredients:
1 16oz bottle corn syrup
1/2 - 1 .88 oz packet Agar powder
Gel food color

Pour your syrup in a pan and heat it up, just hot enough to easily dissolve the powder. Take off the heat, stir in the powder, then do the coloring. Pour it into your container and let it cool down overnight. It will thicken and saturate the color as it cools.


What I used:
- Light (clear/white) Karo corn syrup. I expect that the darker corn syrups, or glucose, maltose, or other thick sugar syrup would work. Clear is easiest to color correctly.
- Wilton gel color tub no-taste red. Dump the whole tub. Measuring is easy with this one. Add a little bit of black gel color for depth. I don't recommend liquid food colors, but you could try. Add a bit of yellow for realism if it's going to be smeared thin.
- Telephone brand Agar powder. Little packets of stuff (bigger than a gelatin packet). This is an algae/seaweed based thickener, very similar to gelatin but easier to dissolve and more stable at room temperature. And obviously more suitable for vegans/vegetarians than animal based gelatin. AKA kanten. Probably not at your local grocery store, but I've seen it online and in almost every Asian market I've ever been to. ~$1/packet usually.

For thick blood, I keep it in a glass jar. The thinner stuff goes in a cheap plastic squeeze bottle.

A full packet of agar will make a VERY stiff blood, VERY thick, that does not run or drip. Great for the forehead area, when you don't want blood running into your eyes. Or for wound fills that need to stay in place. Half a packet makes a more typically runny blood that drips, smears, and dries very realistically. Over a couple of hours the blood will dry and become less sticky, but continue to look "wet" and shiny.


Too thin? Heat it back up and add more agar. Too thick? Heat it back up and add more syrup or some water (go slowly!). Because it's based in corn syrup, aka sugar, don't put it on yourself when warm. Hot sugar = culinary napalm (from experience).

Best part, even the thickest and most heavily colored agar blood has washed off of everything I've put it on - my skin, my hair, my tools, the shower, and even the test patches I did on my costume fabrics (including off-white cotton muslin). Soap and some warm water. It's technically edible (doesn't taste particularly good, but technically...) And much less expensive than buying stage blood (plus it doesn't smell like toothpaste).


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## SpookyDude44 (Sep 29, 2012)

Thanks for sharing this recipe! Going to give it a try for Halloween and on a future short film.


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## Skeptic (Aug 29, 2013)

Have to give this a try, thanks!


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