Replacement For Red Food Coloring In Red Velvet Cake
Decorating By cb_one Updated 5 Sep 2008 , 8:15pm by hammer1
I was very unhappy with the obvious "chemical" taste from the food coloring in the red velvet cake I made for the Fourth of July. It looked beautiful, and everyone said it tasted good, but I really disliked the taste. The recipe called for a whole bottle of red food coloring, and it was nasty.
Has anyone else had this problem? Any solutions? I guess I should have used the no-taste red food coloring. But I can't imagine 1950's housewives making Red Velvet Cake and worrying about the off-taste. And I don't think they had many food coloring options--just the grocery store type. 
........unhappy with the obvious "chemical" taste from the food coloring.....anyone else had this problem? Any solutions......
I agree it does lend an off taste. You can use airbrush color; paste/gel colors. When you use those you don't have to use as much as it is much more concentrated. BTW: most of the recipes I have seen/used called for *2* bottles 
Some people taste red food coloring, while others don't. I suspect that may be a significant factor in whether you consider Red Velvet to be yummy or horrible. I fall into the horrible category, because I am very sensitive to red food coloring.
When I was a kid, a friend loved to test me on M & M's, blindfolded. I could, without fail, say when I was given a red one.
I recently made my first Red Velvet and I used a powdered red color. I don't know the brand, since it seems the store buys a large container then divides it into smaller containers that they sell. I dissolved the powder into the vanilla and I got a nice shade, not too bright or pinkish.
I tried my first red velvet cake when I was visiting in florida last year. It was from a box mix. Here in Canada hardly anyone has ever even heard of this cake. I have to say I thought it was tasty but think that is perhaps because it was from a box mix. Meaning they probably use something other than all that food coloring to get the red.
here is recipe using strawberry juice i/o red food coloring....
http://tartelette.blogspot.com/2007/03/red-velvet-cakes.html
Try one of the recipes that calls for beet juice in place of the red food coloring.
Beet juice?? isn't that like made with vinegar??
When I was very new to baking someone suggested to use vinegar in the icing to prevent cracking.. well like a dummy, I did it! Big mistake
Hi everyone,
I know that many recipes call for the 1-2 bottles of the red food coloring. (I live where Red Velvet is a Southern favorite.)
How much in terms of "cup" measuring, do you think 1-2 bottles equals?
I don't make mine "by the bottle", and that sounds like a lot of red.
-Debbie B.
I use gels for this with no problems.
I was thinking about the Americolor gel in a Red Velvet cake. Since the gels are concentrated, I would think you would use a fraction of what would be needed of a regular liquid coloring.
Is this true?
Approx. how much Americolor per recipe would be appropriate?
Thank you,
-Debbie B.
A bottle of grocery store red is 1-2 oz. If you are going to use paste, you should probably add water to make this 1-2 oz since the recipe is including it in the amount of liquids; otherwise your cake may be dry. Like with icing, just use your judgement for the color desired. Remember this is RED velvet cake, not pink velvet so donât be shy 
I have never tasted a red velvet cake....It seems that every recipe calls for 2 oz of red food coloring. Is that true??????????? 
Beet juice works great (there is no vinegar in beet juice, unless you put vinegar in it......you just use the juice form your plain old canned beets, not pickled beets!....or you can boil fresh beets on your own to make the juice) and I have never noticed a taste from the beets. Or you could just make the recipe without the color. It still tastes good, just not that traditional red color. I never had a red velvet cake until I moved South and have never added the bottle or two of color that the recipe calls for, just because that seemed disgusting. I quite like the cake though.
Heather
Try one of the recipes that calls for beet juice in place of the red food coloring.
Beet juice?? isn't that like made with vinegar??
When I was very new to baking someone suggested to use vinegar in the icing to prevent cracking.. well like a dummy, I did it! Big mistake
Beet juice is what the original recipe called for before red dye was used. The red velvet recipe does call for vinegar anyway, so if the beet juice is made from vinegar, I don't think it would make much of a difference.
Has anyone every tried making a "green" velvet cake? I know McCormick's makes the green coloring in the same size bottle as the red coloring...would that work? I think that would be pretty for a Christmas cake as well...just a thought!
Well, vinegar is used to offset the taste of the red food coloring, you usually don't taste it at all.
I havent tried green, but I think if you use a little it wont effect the taste.
please don't do green....green color in bakery goods is often associated with mold....don't want people thinking ill of your cakes. had a friend make green tuna fish for st. patricks day and wondered why no one was eating......yeah red velvet, we find it yummy in OHio. I use GFS red food coloring and have no ill effect. our recipe uses sour cream so maybe the acid modified the taste, don't know...
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