Painters aren’t the only ones who work in palettes; bakers do too. A baker’s job includes mixing and matching color combinations and achieving the customer’s desired color. Initially, having the primary colors of food coloring—red, blue, green, yellow—can bring you to a whole spectrum of colors, including purple.
The royalty vibes that purple gives off can ultimately range from lavender purple to the majestic purple that most of us love. Pastries decorated with these colors are perfect for weddings, advent, and lent season. It’s also perfect for celebrations including finances and technologies.
Before diving into the intricacies, it’s best to decide on the kind of food coloring that you’ll be using. There are many food coloring types with different characteristics that may or may not suit you or the people who’ll taste your recipes. Here are some basics and short descriptions for each kind and making purple with food coloring:
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- Traditional Food Coloring (Liquid Dye). Usually made with synthetic dye with a water base, it’s best for beginners and typically inexpensive. It isn’t ideal for large pastries or servings because you may need more bottles to create a rich and vibrant color.
- Liquid Gel Dye. Like the traditional one, liquid gel dye is sold in small bottles but with glycerin or corn syrup added. It is perfect for creating vivid colors because of the concentrated dye. The only downside is it isn’t much available everywhere, and it can be challenging to find. It also doesn’t stick to doughs, so it’s better to use for icing and frosting.
- Gel Paste Dye. Found in specialty stores, gel paste dye is almost like liquid gel dye except that it’s very thick and doesn’t allow much for trial-and-error. It’s suitable to create deep colors.
- Natural Food Coloring. These are food colorings extracted from plant and animal sources and are great for anyone who is allergic or doesn’t want synthetic dye. Used drop by drop, these food colorings can sometimes add flavor to the pastry.
- Powdered Dye. They are like liquid dye but in powdered form and are opting for sensitive foods to any liquid. It can be combined to clear alcohol for paint-like consistency and can produce a deep color.
Making Purple Food Color
One of the best choices for debuts, weddings, and anniversaries, the color purple is sophisticated enough to spark joy in everyone’s eyes. Although you can always drop by a baker’s shop or grocery to buy the perfect dye, there are always situations where you need to mix and create the food coloring by yourself. Shades of purple vary, and you must keep your desired shade in mind throughout the process; this determines when to stop and when to mix the food coloring into the pastry.