Introducing bake stable liquid and powder plant based food color!
Natural Colors have many variables especially when adding “into” a medium like icing cake batter or dough as opposed to painting a natural color on the surface. You have to take into account what is “in” what you are trying to color or how all of your individual ingredients may affect natural color. Some natural colors bake well, other do not. Some natural colors change and react to pH or if the icing or dough medium is “basic” or “acidic”. If there is an acid like lemon Juice or Cream of Tartar (Tartaric Acid). Some natural colors will actually change color (hue) with every increment change in pH. And some natural colors are enhanced with an acid others are completely changed! Keep in mind that TruColor is your natural color partner and we want you to have success with natural color and we are here to help you learn the basics.
Every TruColor is different based on the plant source it was derived from, for example the regular blue is made from an anthocyanin or the name for the color from certain fruits (Berries, straw berries, blue berries, raspberries etc. and some vegetables (Red Cabbage, Purple Carrot). Colors derived from Anthocyanins will usually brown with heat, but may work depending on how high the heat is and how long the color is exposed to excessive temperatures. Anthocyanis from certain flowers including Butterfly Pea are mostly heat stable, raising the pH with baking soda will create a blue dough or batter, adding yellow to the blue batter will create green. Adding a food acid like lemon juice or Cream of Tartar to an anthocyanin color will lower the pH and your batter will now show a purple hue. The anthocyanin in purple sweet potato makes the most amazing “blue-color” blueberry pancakes, so have fun and experiment with all the colors to find what works best in your individual application and know we are here to help, your partner for success as you navigate the beautiful world of natural colors!
A good rule as with most things is to always try a little natural color in what you are trying to color before committing to a large batch and add your dough or icing into the liquid or hydrated powder color a little at a time instead of trying to color a large batch of icing by adding the color into a large amount with a plant based color. You can control the batter color better by adding a little at a time into the color itself, to create the shade you desire.
TruColor Liquid Heat Stable Vegetable Color with a high to basic pH IS best for blue and lower the pH for purple Purple Sweet Potato, Spirulina or “Sky Blue” food paint or “Royal Blue” are also varying options for blue color that is not as dependent on pH. You can use the liquids, the gel paste powders or the regular airbrush powders to color dough and batter and will need to take into account how each individual plant based color will react to all the combined ingredients and the heat process involved.
You can make the best red by using our new liquid“Baking Red” a special combination of Beet and Beta Carotene , Liquid Bake Stable Orange made from Annatto. Liquid Green, Spring Green, Liquid Beta-Green, Fuchsia, Regal Purple.
Often with natural colors you often have to simply try the colors in a small amount with your individual application to find what works best! Another tip is to think “out of the box” when it comes to natural colors, try painting with an airbrush gun or a paint brush on the ‘dry” food surface after you bake, using this technique you avoid using large amounts of color inside the dough by simply coating the surface with brilliant hues and shades. When applying natural color on the “dry” surface you rarely have to concern yourself about pH and heat stability of natural colors! You can use the regular TruColor natural airbrush colors when adding color into dough but do not use the TruColor “Shine” line of food color paints, these metallic mineral hues have to be on the “surface” to reflect the light. With the Shine and the Regular Paint and Airbrush lines you can paint the surface of most dry food products with amazing results and not have to worry about heat or what is “in” your dough or batter or how all the ingredients may change the natural colors.
With natural colors you often have to simply try the colors in a small amount with your individual application to find what what works best and ask us questions, we want everyone to be successful with colors from nature.
https://trucolor.org/2015/02/ph-all-you-wanted-to-know-more/