I have been meaning to make plaid sugar cookies this way and in the process I need some sort of food color spray. I'm not so sure if Wilton color mists are readily available where I live but if they ever even are, I still want to DIY my own to cut on costs and all. Any ideas on how to recreate those color mists? Can food color gel and some water work on dried royal icing?

Anything water based may dissolve your royal icing.

no i wrote what i meant to write - i am not confused or wrong. the product is not consumed in this application because it evaporates. Most cake craft suppliers stock it and sell it in containers up to 250mls. some chemists also stock it. the ONLY thing you have to be sure of is that the container label states that it is FOOD GRADE

 

yes it is dangerous if you drink it and yes it can kill if consumed in moderate amounts. that is why it is only supplied in small amounts.

 

yes it does have industrial uses but it is also used by the pharmaceutical and food production industry and for all food and health related  applications there is a food grade puriety.

 

i don't know where you are in the world but here in the UK it is readily available. Of course that may not be the case in some countries

 

the link you provided is valid but perhaps a little misleading so perhaps you would like to check these out. 

 

http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/isopropyl-alcohol-food-grade.html

 

http://www.culpitt.com/everyday-basics/sundries/edible-ingredients/dipping-solution.html

 

http://www.cakecraftshop.co.uk/shop/products/id/cul54480.htm

i don't know if food grade isopropyl is available here in the u.s.--but we have everclear grain alcohol and that's not for sale everywhere either--

 

wow--different countries i guess--

 

yes must be food grade 

so what do you use to mix up powder into paint. I have used vodka in the past but it takes so long to dry it may as well be water.

My rule of thumb? 

 

WHY make a decision to take the risk for ANOTHER human being when Better/Safer/Food Grade options are readily available?

 

Agree... do NOT use isopropyl alcohol. There is NO reason to when grain alcohols are so readily available.

 

Isopropyl does NOT behave differently/better than Grain alcohol - what makes a difference is the proof.

The higher the alcohol content, the less water is in the product.

paperlace1,  considering you are in the UK and you say you have access to Food grade Isopropyl alcohol (which I've heard of), It might be a good idea to qualify that from the beginning as CC reaches multiple countries where it is not considered food safe.  I would really hate to see a new person run with your suggestion and use the wrong stuff.  It can be poisonous.  Just sayin...

 

Jeanne

AWith all the best intentions in the world there is NO way I can be expected to be aware of food regulations in other countries, I have enough trouble keeping up with reg's in th UK. Still as demonstrated here there are plenty of people around to put me straight and suggest an alternative.

Isopropyl alcohol is converted to ACETONE by the Liver.

 

Food-Grade may - or may not - be conditional on how the prouduct is used. As in, hand painting and evaporation.

I do not know the particulars as I am in the US.

 

Regardless of the Food-Grade status, I do NOT want to INHALE the Isopropyl fumes by making a DIY airbrush/spray mist.

 

Creating airborne "mist/food color spray" as the OP is asking (aka airbrushing or pump sprayer) isn't the same use as hand-painting which then evaporates.

A LOT more product ends up in the lungs unless the work area is extremely well ventilated and properly set up.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isopropyl_alcohol

 

Off-label use of any product should be approached with caution.

Ingredients approved for our digestive tract or skin are not necessarily something we want in our lungs.

AI know it's a few days after the original post , but I have a suggestion! In his sculpted car cake class on Craftsy, mike McCarey mixed a bit of vodka with powdered color (luster dust, ect) in a little jar that was attached to something called a PREVAL PAINT SPRAYER, and used it to spray color onto a piece of modeling chocolate. Home Depot sells it for like $10 I think. It works like a spray paint can but you can fill it with your liquid of choice. Now this is just my suggestion, as I have learned on this site that it's important to tread very lightly.. .:-D

i've used those for dummies and non-edible creations--but i've never used it on food to eat--

 

(tread lightly--i hear yah)

I thought the propellant in those Preval Sprayer thingies wasn't food safe.

AJust looked it up. The manufacturers guide says to not use it with food items so womp for me I guess :/ now on to write a letter to Mr. Mccarey

no no no not at all--no womping---you  presented that very carefully and mike is not the only one to use it--the guy at christopher garrens used it on tv on a real cake--so i mean it's kinda easy to tell that it's not food safe because they sell them in the paint department--it would sure be cool if they were though--

Agreed - not whopping!

 

Look at the heated discussions regarding the use of blue painter's tape, pencils, disco dust and the myriad of Non-Toxic stuff people use on food to be eaten. 

 

This shows us that it is VERY EASY to migrate from Only Use to Adaptive Use to "It should be OK" Use to "Everybody does it".

 

It can be incredibly difficult to get accurate information - because the lines DO blur and there ARE opposing opinions as to what's ok.

 

That's why I err to the safe side and use Food Grade whenever reasonable and practical. At the same time, I learn the *rules* so that I can metaphorically break them. I know when I'm using a Decoration Only super luster gold vs a Food Grade color....

 

A little common sense goes a long way. I remember demonstrating airbrushing through lace fabric at my first ICES some 6-7 years ago.... Very serious lady asked me if the lace fabric was food grade. I just blinked at her at first. Then said the lace was as food grade as an apron, washcloth or kitchen towel.

 

And, in my less-informed days, I cut my alcohol-based airbrush body paint with isopropyl because I didn't do my research first. Talk about the mother of all migraines...

Thank you for all your suggestions and opinions! That was quite a number, thank you really--I almost thought nobody was going to respond (insecure newbie syndrome and definitely self-diagnosed). I may go ahead and try extract instead of water. :) Also, I actually don't live in the U.S.--or any country in the western hemisphere for that matter--but I appreciated the references to places and prices and all. So thanks.:)

first of all--many thanks to culpitt's -- so nice of them to be so kind and go the extra mile to provide documentation and to write me back--

 

so to clarify the isopropyl issue across the countries of united states and england  (maybe more) --i wrote this email

 

 

 

culpitt's wrote back:

 

 

 

so the technical specs have no further information other than it's all been signed off on very official and securely--trust me on that--no need to post that really--

 

so due to the different grades of alcohol available in different countries, isoproply alcohol in the correct grade available outside the u.s. is  perfectly safe to use on edibles like cookies etc when mixed with another food grade product--

 

just to provide proof to absolutely put everyone's mind at ease--

A

I got super cheap spritzer bottles from eBay, filled them with a mixture of vodka and gel food coloring, and sprayed them on royal-iced cookies. It works. I made these cookies using that method http://cakecentral.com/g/i/3033429/a/3364418/what-a-mess-but-next-batch-will-be-better-first-time-trying-stencil-bamboo-stencil-with-wilton-color-mist/ Not my best work, but I was just experimenting. The bamboo stencil was the most expensive thing! But since you're making the one in the tutorial, that should be cheap too. I think the spritz bottles were less than $2 with free shipping (from china).

ETA: oops. In the photo caption, I wrote wilton color mist. But I did use the method above too. Just no photos. Sorry!