I always forget that you have to have specific food coloring for candy melts. Is there anything that can be added to regular icing colors in a pinch that works?

Regular colors contain water which will cause the melts to seize, like other chocolates. Powdered color can work in a pinch, a dab or shortening or paramount crystals will thin the candy.

I have a gumpaste bow that I was going to try to put together with candy melts. I made it today and the cake is for Friday night. I thought the candy melts would be a faster way to have the bow ready.

If it seizes up the chocolate would that be a problem for a gumpaste bow?

Lori---

Although we haven't tried it yet, if you're using chocolate as a glue, I don't see how it would affect your gumpaste.

Since it's Wednesday, try a sample gumpaste creation and try attaching it together with the candy melts.

We also use piping gel or water to hold gumpaste objects together.

Paul & Peter

Yes, I feel an experiment coming on......

Shortening added along with icing colors will work for candy. The shortening keeps the candy from siezing.

I actually usually put a small blob of shortening in my melted candy melts. I think it makes the chocolate flow better when you are piping thin lines. I just stir it in the hot chocolate, and once its absorbed fill the bag and pipe away

Americolor Flo-Coat is made specifically for tinting candy melts/chocolate with gel pastes. I use 5 parts Flo-Coat to 1 part gel paste. It works very well, and allows you to match chocolate perfectly with icing.

FYI I used the shortening with a handful of candy melts. It did help the candy not seize up when I added the americolor.

What I found out is this....americolor brown does not produce the same shade of brown in white candy as it does in white icing and gumpaste. It looked very grainy and I could never get the color to match the bow. I guess I need to buy some candy colors or that flow stuff in the future.

Im sorry, maybe this is a dumb question, and I dont mean to be mean at all, but if you needed brown, why didnt you just use the regular chocolate brown melts??

And, as long as you dont put a TON of shortening in there, it hardens just fine. You have to add quite a bit for it to not harden.

Grainy?? Did you overheat your chocolate? aka burn it? Sometimes when I get in a hurry I melt it too fast, and the chocolate actually burns. I have done this several times in the microwave. Otherwise, add a tad bit more shortening, until its smooth.