How to use TruColor Natural Food Color Powder
How to Hydrate TruColor™ Natural Food Powder
To make a gel paste from your powder, you will have to dissolve it completely. A good beginner tip is to use a 1:1 ratio. Meaning one part water to one part powder. For example, if you uss 1 teaspoon of coloring, also use 1 teaspoon of water. Just remember the less water you use to “completely” dissolve the color the stronger and thicker the gel paste will be.
Completely hydrate the color first with the least amount of water possible and never add water directly to the jar. Mix your color in a separate container, a soufflé’ cup or a silicone cupcake liner works well. It is important to make sure that the powder is completely dissolved by mixing very well using a stir stick or an icing tool (Referred to as a booboo stick in Canada) and pressing and mixing the power particles into the water. Test a small amount to make sure all the color is dissolved or you will see specks. When specks are present you may need mix the powder more and add a small amount of water more (small drops) and stir well until the color powder is completely dissolved before adding to your icing.
Some colors like TruColor™ Yellow, for example, may take more water to hydrate. Each color may be just a bit different to how it takes water, depending on the actual source or plant the color was derived from.
When adding a natural color “into” icing or dough you may have to consider all of the other ingredients in your mixture and whether or not an acid is present or not. The acid content or “pH” level may change the color of your icing. Yellow will become brighter and dark brown will become darker by simply adding a squirt of Lemon Juice. These options and variations allow the decorator to create a variety of easily attainable shades with simple natural household items including baking soda and or lemon juice.
How to add TruColor Natural Food Coloring to Icing and Fondant
Natural Gel Paste Colors were specifically designed for buttercream icing, they can also be used in dough or any product you want to color without it breaking down. TruColor™ Natural Gel Paste Powder is AMAZING and is more stable to ultraviolet light than the synthetic colors! TruColor™ Gel Paste is not like any other color gel, it is not made from synthetic cellulose gum and or modified food starch, yet has all the functions of a premium gel paste. TruColor™ Gel Paste Powder is a unique combination of all natural plant sources that helps to encapsulates or enrobe the natural color when used in a standard buttercream icing and helps to prevent bleeding from condensation when thawing if frozen. You will be able to pipe rich dark lines of color across a bed of white icing and the color will not bleed into the white icing field! The natural gel paste powder when hydrated function as barrier limiting the taste that may be associated with the natural color plant source.
When adding color to fondant or gum paste, use less than the recommended equal parts of water to concentrate the color so you don’t break down your fondant or make it too sticky. Use a dropper to hydrate the powder, using the least amount of water possible. Best results are achieved when the wet TruColor™ is very concentrated and completely dissolved. Make sure the concentrated color is completely dissolved before folding in or adding to fondant or icing or you may see specks of undissolved color. TruColor Yellow and any color that has “Turmeric” on the ingredient label will take more water to hydrate as this color is naturally thicker.