What ingredient gives arròs negre its black color?

Arròs negre gets its black color from squid ink.

This Valencian and Catalan rice dish is made with white rice, squid or cuttlefish, seafood broth, garlic, green peppers and olive oil. The ink turns the cooking liquid—and therefore the rice—deep black while adding a briny seafood flavor.

Arròs negre is often compared with seafood paella because both are cooked in a wide, shallow pan and commonly feature shellfish. However, it is traditionally treated as a distinct rice dish rather than simply a black-colored paella. The name means “black rice” in Catalan and Valencian.

A common mix-up is confusing it with naturally dark black-rice varieties. The rice used here is generally ordinary white rice; its color comes from cephalopod ink. A related variation, fideuà negra, uses noodles instead of rice and is often served with aioli. Similar squid-ink dishes also appear in Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, Cuba and Puerto Rico.