What Is Edible Glitter Made From?

Edible glitter adds color and sparkle to cakes, cookies and pastries. It is not a sugar, and therefore can be used on sugar-free products. Edible glitter is custom manufactured to meet specific purposes and applications for commercial as well as home baking needs.

Edible glitter adds a finishing touch to foods "LojaDscf0027" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: watusirv (watusi rv) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.

Process

Making edible glitter relies on film technology. The liquid-gel is processed into extremely thin layers, similar to making cellophane. It is then cut or broken into tiny pieces.

Ingredients

Most edible glitter is a mixture of gum arabic and water. Gum arabic is the hardened sap of the Acacia Senegal tree. Trees are tapped, and the gummy sap is collected and processed into edible forms.

Effects

Edible glitter can be made to have a longer life before it dissolves. This type is made from sodium alginate, a gelling agent which is extracted from the cell walls of brown kelp.

Considerations

Edible glitter is available in various colors, and is custom colored for commercial purposes. Manufacturers use FDA approved food dyes.

Potential

Any kind of flavoring can be added to edible glitter. Non-sugar sweeteners can be added to create sweet flakes. Because the flakes melt immediately on your tongue, flavored glitter adds extra taste impact to foods.

References

• Gum arabic
• Sodium alginate

Resources

• Edible glitter manufacturing
• Edible glitter source