Royal Icing Spots/Specks - Very Annoying!

Hi, alexalsmith, Congrats on making your first post. I look forward to many more to come!

Yes, I have had this issue more than once, and am having it a lot lately with AmeriColor pinks and blues. I suspect it's the food coloring, as that is the only thing that has changed for me (I usually use Chefmaster). What food coloring are you using?

Ugh, it’s horrible I use both Americolor and Chefmaster but it seems worse with Americolor.

That was Americolor Teal

Yes, I've really only had this problem with AmeriColor - their Burgundy and pinks most lately. No problem with their Turquoise. I'm not sure why it happens or how to remedy it, but it seems isolated to this brand and certain color families (for me, anyway). I try to dry under very controlled conditions (quickly) and use icings as thick as I possibly can, because colors seem to set more stably this way, but still some troubles. An email to AmeriColor might help if you've got the time.  I can't pursue this with them right now, unfortunately.

just a guess: looks like tiny color particles. Maybe it helps to mix and dissolve the used amount of Gelfarbe about a day before with some water. Then you would have to see the next day if something has settled on the ground. If so, just do not use the sediment. Could go ...? @alexalsmith

Americolor sent me this email back - someone said to try Hobby Lobby colors so I might test those out. I mix my icing well so I don’t know why it wouldn’t be dissolved.

Hi Alexa, @alexalsmith

Sounds very logical! Would be nice if that was just the reason, because you're dyeing anyway at the end. But if that only happens with certain colors, it would be nice to know if the color dissolves completely. Maybe the "water test" could help?
Sorry, I'm not a specialist - was just my guess...

alexalsmith posted:

alexalsmith posted:

Americolor sent me this email back - someone said to try Hobby Lobby colors so I might test those out. I mix my icing well so I don’t know why it wouldn’t be dissolved.

Hmmm . . . I suppose if it's anything, it's undissolved coloring, not other ingredients. Powdered sugar dissolves nearly instantaneously unless you've got clumps in it.

As a case in point, here's AmeriColor Wedgwood Blue in a bowl, with pink spots on top. I mixed this bowl of icing three days ago, and iced cookies with it. The color set reasonably stably with no pink spots, though not perfectly. On day 2, after presumably enough time for "my ingredients" to dissolve, I returned to the icing to find pink specks all over the top like you see here. I then stirred it to remove specks, and set it aside another day; then I returned today to find the specks again today. This is why I say it seems like coloring not dissolving, not the ingredients. I don't mean to disparage AmeriColor (I love their range of hues), but I just haven't gotten this speckling with any other coloring. Now, this icing was relatively thick (perhaps making it trickier to dissolve the coloring and ingredients), but, again, never this spotting with Chefmaster, which is the other brand I use a lot.

Very interesting. I just ordered a few different brands and will report back with what I find.

I've seen several mentioning pink specks in their white icing. Reading the comments/answers above which dealt with colored icing, I thought I'd ask Americolor why it was happening with white icing using white coloring since there's no real color. Got the same response. Personally, I don't see how white mixed with white results in pink specks.

Mom3Kids posted:

I've seen several mentioning pink specks in their white icing. Reading the comments/answers above which dealt with colored icing, I thought I'd ask Americolor why it was happening with white icing using white coloring since there's no real color. Got the same response. Personally, I don't see how white mixed with white results in pink specks.

Seems like they need to do more testing of this.

My idea would be to filter the color through a cut corner of a coffee or tea filter bag.
I don't know how thick or thin Americolor is. In the past, we (Germany) had liquid paints, which quickly separated. Even shaking it had brought little. You could only filter them. It was quite a "mess" and in order not to lose too much color, that's why the cut corner of the filter bag. The filter bag corner is then placed in a hair sieve and then filter the color.
Back then, our old colors also showed pink particles in blue. I do not know from which dyes the color magenta is composed here ?? (Magenta as the primary color of the "body colors" is used proportionately to create the secondary color blue together with cyan. Therefore pink dots in blue color...)
Yes, I would just keep experimenting. If you have a lot of the blue color, it would be worth filtering, at least temporarily, I think. In the worst case, it could separated again. However, I cannot explain me, how pink particles come in white color. 🤔
I hope it helps you a little ?!?

Icingsugarkeks posted:

My idea would be to filter the color through a cut corner of a coffee or tea filter bag.
I don't know how thick or thin Americolor is. In the past, we (Germany) had liquid paints, which quickly separated. Even shaking it had brought little. You could only filter them. It was quite a "mess" and in order not to lose too much color, that's why the cut corner of the filter bag. The filter bag corner is then placed in a hair sieve and then filter the color.
Back then, our old colors also showed pink particles in blue. I do not know from which dyes the color magenta is composed here ?? (Magenta as the primary color of the "body colors" is used proportionately to create the secondary color blue together with cyan. Therefore pink dots in blue color...)
Yes, I would just keep experimenting. If you have a lot of the blue color, it would be worth filtering, at least temporarily, I think. In the worst case, it could separated again. However, I cannot explain me, how pink particles come in white color. 🤔
I hope it helps you a little ?!?

Too much work and mess for me. I'll just use a different blue color from a different brand.

Oh yes, it's a big mess...!!!
But I'm more of an experimental and "help yourself" type.