Recipe: Blood splatter

Shortland Street star Pua Magasiva with some delicious fake blood. Photo / Doug Sherring

Grant Allen goes behind the scenes in the Shortland Street kitchen

Makes 500ml of fake blood

1. Combine one part water with three parts golden syrup.

2. Gradually add drops of red food colouring, stirring gently.

3. Continue adding drops until the shade resembles that of real blood (always err on the side of adding less, as it's easier to add more).

4. Add a small amount of blue or green food colouring to achieve a more realistic shade (arterial blood is bright red and venous blood is a dark maroon).

5. Add a thickener. Suitable thickeners include:

Dry thickener: Add sifted flour or corn starch to your mixture, and whisk or stir it gently until smooth. If small lumps form, wait about a minute and the lumps will float to the top where you can remove them easily.

Wet thickener: Stir in thick chocolate syrup until the desired consistency is reached.
Heat but don't boil.

1. Dissolve 1-2 teaspoons of gelatin in 2/3 cup hot water.

2. Beat with an egg beater to remove the lumps.

3. Pour gelatin mixture into hot blood. Leave to cool.

4. Roll out a sheet of cling film to the size of blood splatter you require. Pour gelatin on glad wrap and leave to set.