how many days in advance must i prepare red icing?

how do i get it red color without it tasting nasty??

I use americolor super red. It doesn't really take too much to make it red, I make it the morning of the night I'm going to need it and it's always a nice strong red color.

I use wilton no taste red. I use pink at first and get it as dark as I can before adding the red, that way I don't have to use as much.

Ditto on the Americolor. A couple of itty bitty drops, and BAM, your batch is bright red and not a hint of pink, no taste difference, no texture difference.

the cake shop I go to sells red powder. They say you must boil it up with some water first, then they use it in addition to some of the regular gel red colour. Apparently it tastes a lot better, and it certainly looks a richer red than I have achieved with just the gel.

If your using Wiltons don't use the Christmas red - all it does is go orange/red ... more orange lol. The no taste red (above) is the way to go!

thanks so much...i am so loving this website

americolor is the best i've found. They have a super red that works great. I can make it right when i need it and get a good color.