Anthocyanins as one of the main natural groups of food colorants undergo quick color fading, which can be diminished through protein association. The stabilization of cyanidin-3-glucoside (CYG) through binding to bovine serum albumin (BSA) was investigated at pH 3.0 using atomic force microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry along with UV–Vis absorption, steady-state fluorescence, circular dichroism, and three-dimensional emission spectral analyses merged with the multivariate curve resolution-alternative least square method. (472 characters)