The Americolor Student Set comes in three parts, and the first set has some good, basic colors that you can use to mix other colors.
This is what’s included in the Americolor Student Set #1, plus a look at the kinds of colors each one makes.
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Mixing method for coloring buttercream icing.
The Americolor food colorings come in little dropper bottles. I used about 1/4 cup icing for each test and did 1 drop of color for light, 2 drops for medium, and 3 drops for dark.
The icing was a practice buttercream that was made from shortening and confectioner’s sugar, so it was totally white to begin with. If you’re using butter your icing is going to have a slightly off-white tint, so the colors will be a little different and you might have to adjust them a little.
If you’re using a larger amount of icing, start with a little color and add more as you go. Some of the colors are really strong, so start with less than you think you’ll need and work your way up.
These colors are a lot more concentrated than liquid food coloring, and they give you better colors. Click here to check the difference between these, regular McCormick colors, and natural food colorings.
This set is very similar to the Americolor Junior set, which you can see here: 8 color Junior set. Or check out the Basic Six set here.
Americolor Super Black
The Americolor Super Black color makes a really good charcoal color and a good dark black, but you’d have to add a lot. This is pretty common problem with black icing, since it takes a lot of food coloring to make a good dark color.
Leaving the icing to sit overnight can deepen the color, or starting with icing that’s been colored with black cocoa powder can give you a good base to start with. Adding black food coloring to the darkened cocoa icing will give you a good black color without having to use as much food dye.
Click here for an article about a tricky way to cover a cake with dark icing that minimizes the amount of dark food coloring on the cake.
Americolor Royal Blue
This shade was similar to the Wilton Sky Blue in the lighter colors, and you can get a good dark version of the royal color. If you were doing an ombre effect the two colors together would work really well.
Americolor Sky Blue
Americolor Sky blue is a really pretty blue color, and it didn’t take much to make a saturated sky blue color. If you started with more icing you could easily make a pretty shade of light blue for a baby shower cake or cupcakes.
To see an article comparing a bunch of blue food colorings, click here.
Americolor Chocolate Brown
Americolor Chocolate Brown food coloring is a nice brown color that can range from a milk chocolate color to a darker brown that looks like a brown leather color. If you wanted to start with a larger amount of icing you could make a soft beige or tan to use for beach sand on a summer-themed cake.
Americolor Lemon Yellow
The Americolor Lemon Yellow is a nice bright color that’s a true vivid yellow. You don’t need a lot to get a bright color, this goes a long way.
For an article comparing a bunch of different yellow food colorings, click here.
Americolor Teal
This teal was very similar to the Wilton teal (you can see that here,) with a green tint that could be used for turquoise.
The final colors were very similar, so either brand will give you a decent teal color depending on how much you use.
Americolor Leaf Green
Americolor Leaf Green is a nice true green that doesn’t veer too much into the blue category. This would be a good color for piped grass or for leaves on piped buttercream flowers.
It didn’t take much to make a saturated green, so you’ll get a good shade without having to use too much of the food coloring.
Americolor Orange
Americolor orange is a saturated, pretty color that would be perfect for Halloween cakes or piped flowers on a Springtime birthday cake.
The shades ranged from a dark peachy orange to a true bright pumpkin orange.
To see an article with orange and brown food coloring comparisons, click here.
Americolor Deep Pink
Americolor Deep Pink made a nice bubblegum pink without using too much, and closer to a hot pink with more.
If you started with more icing than I did, this would make a pretty soft pink for a girl’s baby shower cake, or for a ballerina cake.
For another article about pink food coloring comparisions, click here.
Americolor Super Red
Americolor Super Red is an orange-toned red, and the lightest version is very coral. If you let this sit out overnight it would probably get darker, but red is a difficult color to get really dark.
You can add a lot of food coloring, or you could tone down the final version with some purple to counteract the yellow in it.
To see what’s in the Americolor Student Set #2, click here.
Americolor Violet
This violet color had nice blue undertones and was a good purple color. It gave me a good difference between the lighter and darker versions, and it’s another one that would be good to let sit overnight to darken.
Americolor Fuchsia
This was a nice fuchsia color, but it wasn’t super bright. It was definitely on the pink side, but it was more muted than the flowers that are calle fuchsias and that have the bright pink color.
This would make a nice pastel pink if you added a little into a full batch of icing.
All of the colors in the set.
This set has some nice basic colors in assorted shades, and you would be able to make a lot of other colors using these.
