If you've had the opportunity to use more than one brand of icing colouring, where would your rate the following brands/styles:

Americolor SoftGel
Chefmaster LiquaGel
Wilton Paste

and

Americolor Candy Color
ChefMaster Candy Color
Wilton Candy Color

[edit] Or other brands [/edit]

== Sorry, Berta, I got called away for a sec and hadn't entirely completed my thought ==

And please explain, if you would, what you felt made one better (or worse) than the other.

I'm most curious about ChefMaster as they don't get mentioned much, and want to see how people rate them to the other two, Americolor seeming to be quite favored on this board.

Thanks for any insight you can give here.

I rate them in just that order for both:

Americolor
Chefmaster
Wilton

Berta

rainbowz,

I'm with Berta;

Americolor
Chefmaster
Wilton

I am replacing my Wilton colors with the Americolor as I run out.

Only used the Chefmaster once when they didn't have the Americolor that I needed and it was still better than Wilton.

Here is something interesting that I learned from my cake supply store owner. The company that manufacture Wilton colors also do the Americolors and Chefmaster.

I asked her how come Americolor was a much better product than Wilton since they came from the same manufacturer and she told me that she didn't know.

If it all comes out of one manufacturer, then it's simply going to be that one brand is willing to accept lower quality (for a lower price) than the other(s). They make a better profit, likely.

Still. we're left having to deal with the end product, regardless of origin.

Anyone else used ChefMaster and Americolor? Do you agree with the above and what do you feel made one better than the other, specifically?

(We'll all agree Wilton's is not up there... although better than grocery store liquid colours, at least).

Well this has been my experience with colors
ChefMaster- don't have to use much to get the color I want, highly recommend.
Country Kitchen- almost rates up there with Chef Master, very pleased with results
Wilton- I wouldn't take a truck load for just one bottle of ChefMaster
I haven't used Americolor so I can't comment on it, but it must be fab from all the good things I hear about it

They all cost the same where I shop.

I would love to know the answer to this also!!!

Where can i find Americolor? I cannot find a cake supply store here in Colorado, so most things are from the hobby stores or online.... i hate my Wilton colors.. and are Americolors a powder? or glyceren like Wilton?

I just looked at my colors and it is Spectrum that I have instead of the Chefmaster...my bag

So I guess my choice has changed;

Americolor
Spectrum
Chefmaster (haven't tried it yet...has to be better than Wilton)
Wilton

Americolor for sure.

but another really good one if you can get a hold of them is BakeryCrafts colors. But they only come in the bigger bottles. I am not sure where you can get them, because I have an account with them. I have not persoanlly tried them yet, but another woman swears by thier red and black.

leily,

Thanks so much for answering my question.

Boy, do I feel dumb...never even throught of that

I did a google search on americolor and you can't order directly from the company, but a few websites sell it like sugarcraft.com and this one. Wish I could find it locally. I hate the wilton stuff and using toothpick after toothpick to add more when I usually end up using half the bottle!


http://www.cakesbysam.com/store/cart.php?target=product&product_id=21500&category_id=256

Am I the only one who doesn't hate Wilton? I have only tried Americolor once, so I guess I didn't really have the chance to notice a huge difference. I guess I compare Wilton colors to the liquid food coloring I have used my whole life, so it works great to me.

I have never tried those other brands though, so I can't really compare.

Melissa

#1 --- Americolor (I use them for difficult colours like black, red, brown, purple)

#2 --- Wilton (I like their shades and the huge variety they offer)

#3 --- ChefMaster (the shades seem more "natural", but I find I can't get very intense colour easily with them. The paste turned grainy after a few months too, which bugged me and I ended up having to waste by throwing a lot of jars out)

#4 --- CakeCraft (hate these jars with a passion. Colours are okay but not very natural, but their little red/white jars are a major LEAKY pain in the A@#!!!)

#1 - Americolour - the squeeze bottle is my new best friend....and you use less colour to get the darker colours.....red black blue like antonia suggested....I hear they also have neon / electric colours....something that Wilton does not offer. And the price for 4.5oz of Americolor is the same as the price for 1oz of Wilton ... can't beat that!!!

#2 - Wilton....lots of variety of colours and readily available....Michales, Bulk Barn etc....

I think I like the Americolour better really only for the fact it is easier to get the darker colours and I LOVE the squeeze bottle, the toothpick thing is a bit of a pain.....

I have never tried the others so I can't comment

Nope, not World of Cakes.....I got my colours at Petra International in Mississauga....$2.50 for a 4.5oz bottle, I bought red red, super black and navy blue!

Paul that link is for neon fondant....does Wilton have electric gel colours??

Never tried the Ateco colours...saw them at Golda when I was there but have not tried them and I have not tried the LorAnn oils, saw them at Golda too, but did not pick up any

In order of preference:

Americolor is awesome, nice bright colours, easy to add and almost any icing takes their colour well. I love their neon pack, a little goes a long way.

Sugarflair is also quite nice, also has 'true' colours. I believe they are UK based and can be purchased at creativecutters.com

Bakerycraft is easy to use and inexpensive for the big bottles.

Wilton does have a nice selection of colours however I have found that some don't blend well and can sometimes look 'muddy'. You need a fair amount of their colour to get where you want to be.

okay here is my list!

1. Americolor....ease of squeeze bottles and the more intense colors like Red,Black and Blue are easier to achieve with less color.Price is better.

2. Wilton...I still have tons of these to use up.The colors are good.need alot for the darker colors and the toothpick thing is a pain in the butt.

3. Haven't tried chefmaster so I can't say.

OK, here's a quick recap of the brands mentioned so far, add in your comments on why you feel they're superior (or bad):

Americolor
Wilton
CakeCraft
Ateco-Spectrum
ChefMaster
SugarFlair
BakeryCraft
LorAnn
Country Kitchen

And of course, your mother's food colours, McCormick/Club House

OK i hate wilton because its almost impossible to recreate a color if you run out. Americolors are super easy to make the same colors over and over because of the squeeze bottle. Havent used the others

I have one or two little bottles of Magic line paste color that I got from my Grandmother whose hobby store was going out of business. I have no idea where to buy more of them, but I liked the one I used.