Every confectioner knows: any dish should surprise you with both taste and beautiful design. In addition, it is absolutely safe to use food coloring for confectionery. They are harmless, but the dish will delight the sweet tooth with its colorfulness and originality. It is important to know what types of such substances are and when they are best used.
Dyes of natural origin
As a basis for them, berry juices, fruits, herbs are used. Natural food coloring for confectionery products is easy to make at home. They do not require synthetic additives, and all the ingredients are easy to find. But if you want to buy them, then they will cost a little more than synthetic ones.
Natural food colors for confectionery are divided into types depending on color:
- Red color is made from crushed berries of the corresponding shade or beets. To obtain it, you need to boil the selected material in acidified water, and then strain.
- Blue is easy - mix indigo with starch.
- To obtain a yellow dye, you will need saffron (we prepare a solution with alcohol or ordinary water) or lemon zest.
- Similarly, orange dye is obtained from orange zest.
- Green is made from spinach, and brown is made from burnt sugar or infused coffee.
Of course, it is possible to obtain natural food colors for confectionery and by mixing the above colors. Unfortunately, bright colors with natural ingredients will not work, so they are used exclusively at home.
Synthetic Food Coloring
Such dyes are obtained in laboratory conditions from organic substances. They do not contain food products. Such food colors for confectionery products have the following advantages:
- they are easier to store;
- easier to process;
- The colors are bright and saturated.
In addition, these are precisely those food colors for confectionery products, the price of which will delight any confectioner. They cost from 30 to 400 rubles, depending on the type and volume. Dyes are water soluble and fat soluble. The first can be bought in liquid, dry form or in the form of a gel. The second - in liquid or granular. They color a variety of confectionery items.
Types of Dyes
- Liquid. To color mastic or cream, use water-soluble dyes in the form of liquids. They usually have a short shelf life. Their consumption is higher than dry.
- Powder dyes. First you need to make a solution of water or alcohol. Usually they paint small elements of dishes. Dry colorants can be sold in granules instead of powders.
- Kandurins. These are the so-called pearlescent dyes. They are used to make spangles in sprinkles and gels to decorate cakes. To make kandurin, you need to mix 1-2 g of dye with 1 kg of neutral gel. Mix the mass thoroughly.
- Pastes. These are very thick dyes. Their concentration is much higher than that of kandurins or other gels. Pasty dyes are used to color ice cream, mastic, dough and creams.
- Gels. Gel dyes are used in the same place as pastes. These substances do not smell and are neutral in taste. To color 1 kg of cream or mastic, you need only a couple of grams of gel.
- Fat-soluble food colors are great for decorating greasy creams and white chocolate. But they can not be used for coloring protein cream - they just do not mix with it.
- Spray dyes. Sometimes there is a need to create a soft color on the product so that no splashes remain on the surface. You can find such food colors for confectionery: Moscow has many stores selling airbrushes. This device has a thin needle through which dyes can be sprayed without droplets.
The best dyes to use
Before using any substances for cooking, you must first find out which ones are better. Confectioners advise staining your favorite foods primarily with dry dyes. The main thing is to choose a quality product from a good manufacturer. The best option would be Indian dyes. They can be chosen from a wide range: there are both natural and synthetic.
How to color mastic
This can be done using dry dyes. It can be painted in two ways:
- The first is easier to implement. To do this, add slightly heated water to the powder. The resulting solution is added to the mastic carefully, drop by drop, so that the resulting mass is saturated. In this case, the mastic will retain its structure. This will not work with the use of gels - the mass will come out structureless and softened.
- The second method is time consuming. About 100 g of mastic should be mixed with a teaspoon of powder. We wrap the resulting mass in a film and put it in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours, but not less than 5. After this time, the dye will be absorbed into the mastic. After that, thoroughly knead it. The resulting mastic will be bright and saturated, it can be mixed with unpainted mastic.
We recommend using powdered fat-soluble dye for coloring oily cream or glaze. The resulting confectionery will delight not only with its taste, but also with its appearance.