Why does red icing taste so bitter?

February 14, 2006 8:09 AM

What is the cause of the bitter taste in some kinds of red/pink icing?

Most of the time the red icing tastes kind of bitter and leaves a nasty taste. Is there a different ingrediant? I know that food dye is tasteless but perhaps it's something in the red. I had pink icing on a cookie cake and it tasted bitter but not as bad as some reds that I have had in the past. It's not a good surprise to discover. I have yet to find it in any other colored icing.

posted by amicamentis to Food & Drink (11 answers total)

I never realized I wanted to know this until right now. Thanks, amicamentis.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:12 AM on February 14, 2006 [1 favorite]

The coloring id due to iodine, I believe, which gives the bitter taste. You can find "no taste" red icing, but I believe it's not nearly as brilliant.
posted by kcm at 8:21 AM on February 14, 2006

yeah, Red #3 (erythrosine) contains iodine.

It is used as a food dye, in printing inks, as a biological stain, a dental plaque disclosing agent and a radiopaque medium.

yum.
posted by kcm at 8:30 AM on February 14, 2006

I love pink icing! I have sometimes wondered what made it "different," but never for long enough to actually ask. Thanks, amicamentis for asking and kcm for answering!
posted by ilsa at 9:05 AM on February 14, 2006

Are you sure the coloring isn't carmine or cochineal? If so, the odd flavor may be due to the fact that it's chock full o' powdered beetle.
posted by Danelope at 9:17 AM on February 14, 2006

When I worked at a grocery store in a town where the high-school colors were orange and black (White Bear Lake, MN), it was black icing that we had to warn the customers about -- they could order black roses or trim on a cake, but we had to tell them it would be bitter.

And also ugly, but we couldn't say that part.
posted by GaelFC at 9:40 AM on February 14, 2006

So funny. Today at work there were cupcakes with white or red fosting. I passes up the red and said i wanted white because of the taste of red and people looked at me funny.
posted by beccaj at 10:11 AM on February 14, 2006

I have never even noticed a difference, but I will certainly be looking for one next time I have the chance.
posted by arcticwoman at 10:40 AM on February 14, 2006

People should look funny at food that has the same taste but different colors.
posted by omidius at 10:41 AM on February 14, 2006

Red #40 also tastes nasty.
posted by nmiell at 10:51 AM on February 14, 2006

Are you sure the coloring isn't carmine or cochineal? If so, the odd flavor may be due to the fact that it's chock full o' powdered beetle.

With packaged foods, this might help you distinguish between different kinds of red food coloring. Carmine and cochineal aren't kosher, so they cannot bear a kosher stamp. Coal tar and iodine based coloring can.

I'd be interested to know which coloring agents give a bitter taste. Not interested enough to eat a bunch of red food, but...
posted by Elsa at 6:53 AM on February 21, 2006