Trying to make black candy.. like coal.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

I have black icing color.. it's a paste with hfcs and other crap added, but its very dark. I don't know if it will work.

Last time I tried mixing colors it came out more brownish than black, that was ok anyway cause it's rootbeer flavor.

Can anybody help?

[sinkingfeeling]

1. What type of candy are you making?

.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

2. hard candy.. adding baking soda at the end

(to make little bubbles) then pouring into powdered sugar, cutting and shaping when still warm.

basically this recipe,
http://www.marthastewart.com/318371/candy-coal

[sinkingfeeling]

3. Here's one that's a tad different. Gel black coloring should work but might

take quite a bit.

http://www.diamondsfordessert.com/2011/01/carbon-dulce-sweet-coal.html

[Viva_La_Revolution]

4. I've made 5 other flavors of stained glass candy, and I want them to be about the same.

I may even omit the baking soda to keep the same texture as the others.

I'll have to try that one next year

[Warpy]

5. One thing I've learned in years of dyeing fiber

is that black is the one color that's impossible to achieve. The best I've ever gotten is a dark charcoal grey. I want black, I stick to professionally dyed fiber.

Even naturally black wool has a lot of brown in it.

You've already found that mixing colors = mud.

I might mix that black icing with a lot of stabilizer (gelatin? egg white? boiled sugar?) and use it to coat lumpy candy.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

11. Just as an aside -- nothing to do with cooking or baking

In British heraldry -- coats of arms -- there are five colours: Gules (red), azure (blue), vert (green), purpure (purple) and sable (black).

Well over 90% of the time, the colours on a coat of arms are red and/or blue.



Why? The reason is dyes. Before the invention of analine dyes in the 19th century, there was a red dye -- madder -- which was both bright and colorfast; similarly, there were two blue dyes -- indigo and woad -- which were also bright and colorfast. However, while there were a number of green dyes, there was none that was both bright and colorfast (the Lincoln green associated with Robin Hood was a mixture of blue and yellow, and was what today would be termed olive green). There was a purple dye -- murex -- which was both bright and colorfast, but also horrendously expensive. The only black dye was really dark grey and was not at all colorfast.

There are two other tinctures, the metals, which are or (gold) and argent (silver), usually shown as yellow and white. Gold and silver threads could be used, but only if you had a ton of money. There was a good yellow dye -- weld -- and white was generally bleached cloth.

[MyNameGoesHere]

6. Black rice extract

Might add some sweetness. Won't be jet black I am afraid though.

[PADemD]

7. McCormick makes black food coloring

http://www.mccormick.com/Spices-and-Flavors/Extracts-and-Food-Colors/Food-Colors/Black-Food-Color

Also, there is a color mixing chart here:

http://www.adamsextract.com/images/colorchart.pdf

[winter is coming]

8. Which brand of paste?

Wilton will probably give a greenish cast, but Americolor Super Black works pretty well. If it looks a little purplish, add some yellow to "flatten" the color. Ever since I discovered the Americolor stuff, I've stopped buying Wilton.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

9. Wilson. It did look greenish, so I added 4 drops of red and now it's very dark brown...

close enough to black

1 3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup water

bring to 300degrees

added 1 Tablespoon root beer concentrate mixed with .25 oz black paste color
1/2 t. baking soda
extra red food coloring to fix color.

stir about 2 minutes (till it stops foaming) pour into 8x8 cheap aluminum buttered pan.

let cool completely. pop out of the pan by twisting and sticking a butterknife along the edge. place in a gallon bag and hit with a hammer.
dust with powdered sugar so they don't get sticky.

[winter is coming]

10. A dark brown will go better with the root beer flavor, anyway.

Sounds like a great project.