Episode Details

Why does edible glitter colour bleed into icing overnight? Usually because water got involved — and often because the colour that moved was never in the glitter. Mica-based pearlescent pigment is almost insoluble in water. It sits on a surface rather than dissolving into one, so on its own it has nothing to migrate with. When colour creeps outwards after decorating, two things are almost always involved: moisture, which softens a set sugar surface and carries whatever is soluble sideways, and the gel colour already in tinted buttercream or royal icing, which very often travels upward into the decoration rather than the other way round. From above, both look identical — which is why the jar gets blamed. In this episode: - The mechanism, in one line: dye migrates, mineral pigment does not - Dana's winning round: four FD&C dyes are declared in this line, so "it's never the glitter" is not a promise anyone can make - The five shades our spec sheet lists as pearlescent pigment only - Three changes for Monday: spirit instead of water, cure tinted icing first, dry dish and dry brush - Why storage after decorating is the moment people forget - What the category's colour complaints actually add up to Who should skip it: same-day decorators working on white or ivory, and anyone dusting chocolate rather than icing — no water, no sugar, nothing to move through. MONÉGASQUE Snow White drink glitter, 10 g, is on Amazon at $14.99 standard; check the listing for current pricing. Full transcript on the episode page. New questions answered every week at The Monégasque Table.