Make Pretty Pumpkins & Creepy Cakes With Wilton’s Halloween Candy Color Set!
Written: Sep 22 '04
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Pros: Easy to use, inexpensive, certified kosher, long shelf life.
Cons: Can be messy.
The Bottom Line: Don’t need a huge bag of orange or black chocolate? Pick up one of these sets and make your own!
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| Freak369's Full Review: Wilton Halloween Candy Color Set 1913-1295 |
Ah yes, Halloween is right around the corner and that means that I’ve been dragging out the orange and black totes, going through the decorations and planning yet another Halloween extravaganza. This year it will be a little different since three, yes three, of my boys won’t be here to celebrate. But never fear, my youngest son and my neighbor’s daughter have oh so graciously agreed to be certified taste testers for my latest creations as well as guinea pigs for new recipes I am working on. One item that I can’t do without is candy dye, it allows me to create unique colors and gives me a lot of freedom when I am playing around with new candy molds and need a lot of different hues. Wilton is a name that I trust and if I am going to spend a few hours in the kitchen painting molds, I want to know that the products I am using are going to work the same way each time. Having these on hand allows me to make pumpkins of varying colors, adding a little depth to yellows and of course the black can be used to make a ton of different gray shades.
Wilton Halloween Candy Color Set [1913-1295]
Even though this is considered a seasonal item, it is something that is stocked at the Wilton Online Store year round. You might not think that you’d get much use from this set outside of Halloween but you’d be surprised at how many times I’ve used this for Easter, Christmas and Thanksgiving. Each jar contains one quarter ounce of dye, that might not sound like a lot but when you are only using a tiny amount each time it does go a long way. I’ve had my current set since last Halloween and it is still in great shape with no separation or loss of color. This has a suggested retail price of $2.99 but you can find it for a little less at places like Wal-Mart and Michael’s. Since this has a good shelf life you can also pick it up at the after Halloween sales for less than half price and tuck away until you need it. These candy dyes can be used with all of the other colors available from Wilton however I’d suggest that you not try and use other brand since you don’t know how they will react to each other or how the finished product will look.
How The Heck Do You Use This?
The basic rule here is this – less is better. It’s sort of like adding spices when you are cooking, you can always add more if need be but if you over do it – it’s pretty hard to rebound. I usually work with small amounts of while chocolate pellets and melt them in the microwave in a ramekin. Then I use a clean toothpick and dip the end of it into the dye; from there it’s just a matter of mixing it evenly to create the color you want. These dyes will not change the viscosity of the chocolate so you don’t have to worry about that aspect of it in the least. If you need to add more dye, use a clean toothpick each time since you do not want the chocolate getting into the container. Add a little at a time until you reach the color you want and make sure that you stir the chocolate completely so you don’t end up with a little hidden glop of dye hiding at the bottom or around the sides. If it starts to harden you can reheat it but again, mixing it will keep it from setting up.
This is an oil based dye so it can get a little messy to work with; kids can use this if they want to help out but you have to stress the importance of adding a little bit at a time as well as mixing it completely. If this gets on skin it does wash off easily if caught quickly enough but I will admit that I walked around with orange hands for two days when I tried adding this to a plain sugar cookie dough. It washes out of plastic candy molds easily and doesn’t tint the surface, all in all it is a great way to get the most from your white chocolate and eliminate the need to purchase orange or black pellets when you only need a small amount to work with.
Things To Know
• Overusing the black dye in chocolates could result in what I call “rot mouth” who ever eats it won’t really taste anything outside of the chocolate but when they smile their teeth and inside of their mouth will be black. This is a 100% edible item so there is no danger in it but it does scare people to pieces when they catch their reflection in the mirror.
• I have used the black dye in cookie mixes as well as in cake batter; when you have mixed the batter to the proper consistency load up a clean toothpick with dye and swirl it in. If you mix it the entire batch of batter will be gray or black depending on how much you add to it but I like the swirl effect – even better – add some red to it as well – makes for a nice surprise when you go to cut the cake.
The Bottom Line
These dyes are easy to use, are inexpensive and will save you money in the long run. It’s cheaper to purchase this two pot set and make your own orange, black and gray tones than it is to buy the premade ones. In my case, I hate to have chocolate sitting around for a long time and won’t use anything that has bloom on it [that white haze that occurs on chocolate when it is exposed to high heat or has been stored in a location that’s too cool]. There’s nothing wrong with chocolate that has bloom on it but if I am going to spend a huge chunk of time making candy, I want to use the freshest chocolate possible. If you are looking to do some candy making this Halloween, check out this set from Wilton – you’ll be able to create your own colors and won’t have to worry about chocolate going to waste.
As always, thanks for the read!
~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~
© 2004 Freak369
Other awesome Wilton Halloween products …
• Wilton Halloween Sprinkle Mix • Wilton Black Colored Sugars • Wilton Halloween Icing Colors • Wilton Halloween Mini Stencils • Wilton Spooky Cookie Cutter Set • Wilton Tombstone Candy Mold • Wilton Mini Ghost & Pumpkin Candy Mold • Wilton Fright Night Lollipop Mold • Wilton Dancing Skeletons Lollipop Mold • Wilton Jack O Lantern Canister Cookie Cutter Set • Wilton Copper Halloween Cookie Cutter Set • Wilton Mini Pumpkin Pan • Wilton Singles - Ghost Mini Pan • Wilton Singles - Bat Mini Pan • Wilton Haunted House Baking Pan •
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $2.79
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