However, I've also been curious about natural food coloring options. A few months ago, I bought a set of India Tree Natural Decorating Colors from Amazon. For about $16, I received a three-bottle set of vegetable-based food coloring. Each bottle was .75 ounces, and the colors were advertised as red, yellow, and blue. Admittedly, natural dye is much more expensive than standard food coloring. On a per-ounce basis, natural dye costs at least three times as much as Wilton or Americolor. The natural dye also has a shelf life of just a few months; Wilton and Americolor typically last much longer. I stored my natural food coloring in the refrigerator to extend the shelf life as much as possible.
After a few rounds of experimentation, I thought it might be helpful to share my experience using the India Tree natural colorants. Please know that this post is not sponsored by India Tree, and I am not affiliated with India Tree in any way. Also, please note that this post is not intended to evaluate the health benefits of using natural food dyes versus standard food dyes. I do not have a background in medicine or food science, so I don't consider myself qualified to write about food dye from a science-y perspective. Nonetheless, I've tinted my fair share of royal icing and buttercream, so I can certainly write about my experience vis-à-vis decorating. How do natural dyes compare to conventional food dyes, such as those produced by Wilton, Americolor, or McCormick? What are the pros and cons from a decorating standpoint? What sort of colors can you produce using natural food dyes?
