The Value of Natural Food Colouring for a Bakery Business
Cupcakes, cookies, doughnuts and pretty much any bakery item can be turned into marvellous, mouth-watering creations just by playing with colours. The vibrant hues of bakery icings, fillings, seasonings and toppings can be a huge turn-on for consumers, enticing them to lay their hands on something. After all, who wouldn’t want to lick up the blue frosting of a cupcake or taste the pink-orange colour of an ombre doughnut? That’s the power of natural food colouring, especially in increasing the sale quotient of sweet baked products.
There’s no doubt that artificial food colours like those produced by Exberry are the least expensive option available to bakers. These colours are valued greatly for their stability, consistency, and ease of use. But natural food colours are an irreplaceable ingredient in a baker’s kitty because of their clean, minimally-processed nature. These colours are derived from vegetable and fruit juices and do not contain preservatives and solvents.
Although expensive because of their natural source, these food colours can greatly improve the taste and appearance of bakery products—something that can boost the revenue of your bakery business.
How to Use Natural Food Colouring in Bakery Products The Best Way
By using the right bakery ingredients and applying some clever thinking, you can actually create magic in your bakery products by using natural food colouring. It’s easier than you think because all it demands is some creative thinking on your part to use different colour palettes in your bakery products.
Take beta carotene for example. This carotenoid creates orange to yellow hues and its synthetic production is also quite economical. When you use the nature-identical form of beta carotene, the label will read “beta carotene for colour”. If you wish to use products with only natural labelling, you can replace beta carotene with annatto to get the same yellow hue.
However, it is recommended that you add annatto in the baking process as late as possible to reduce heat degradation. If you are using beet juice, you should definitely follow this rule. To note: beet juice creates a red-violet hue, making it perfect for icings and frostings, especially in the much-loved red velvet cake.
One amazing method to lower colouring costs is to plate the desired colour on something to enhance its surface area, thereby allowing you to make do with lesser portions. To deepen the impact of bold colours and reduce use, you can add a little caramel colour along with the main shade. Also, with creative thinking, bakers can come up with amazing edibles.
Take, for example, swirling a colour into baked items adds visual interest while also managing usage level. By creatively including natural colours in toppings and frostings, like stained granola or cereal, coloured crumb toppings, or coloured sugar crystals, you can create a colourful effect in your bakery products.
You can create the unique and natural impact of your baked treats with non-artificial colouring by using fresh ingredients like mint leaves or fruit for topping them. This also positions your baked creation as a premium offering. It can be a tricky affair, but with the right selection of ingredients and approach, you can come up with delicious and beautiful bakery items that tickle the fancy of label-conscious consumers.
