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Black is the new… black, in food coloring

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blackfoodcoloring.JPGHow often do you reach for food coloring and what colors do you use? Most of my food colorings go into icings for cakes and cookies, with some going into the cakesthemselves. I tend to stick with the red, yellow, green and blue colors that come standard in boxes of food coloring, or dilute them slightly for shades of pink, orange and purple. I don’t try for browns, greys and blacks because, although years of art school* taught me mixing them is possible, they’re not appetizing when manufactured

There is a demand for black food coloring, a big enough demand that McCormick’s spent the last two years developing a deep color that won’t stain teeth. The product will hit shelves later this year and anyone interested will be able to get “that true black” for their icings.

My position has always been to use chocolate when black or brown is required – dark chocolate or a rich cocoa icing for black, and a milk chocolate for brown – and inspite of this new coloring, I’ll stick with my old standbys. My black and white cookies might not be “true black,” but I haven’t had any complaints yet.

*Read: watercoloring in “art class” in elementary school

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2 Comments
  • Krooie
    May 11, 2007

    I’ve always used Wilton paste food coloring when I’ve needed to color something black. It doesn’t stain, as far as I know, and it has a thick consistency that doesn’t thin out icings, etc., like liquid colorings often do.

  • Heidi
    May 13, 2007

    I’m not a food coloring fan at all but I do like Easter eggs and I stock up on the Paas kits when they go on clearance after the holiday. It’s nice to look at an egg and know instantly whether I hardboiled it or not. 😉

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