The Americolor Basic Six Food Color Set has the primary colors plus a few that could be used to mix up other colors.
This is what’s included, plus a look at the kinds of colors each one makes.
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The Basic Six food coloring set.
This set is a really good basic set that gives you a lot of potential for mixing colors. With the red, yellow, and blue you can make a lot of other colors, and the secondary colors are pretty pure so that you can use them as a starting point for mixing colors like teal or lavender.
This set includes Super Black, Super Red, Royal Blue, Lemon Yellow, Leaf Green, and Deep Pink.
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.
Click to see what’s in the Americolor Student Set #1 and Student Set #2.
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.
Royal Blue
The Royal Blue food coloring gives you a good range of a nice blue color, ranging from a sky blue to the darker royal blue.
This one would be good for a boy’s baby shower or for an under-the-sea cake.
Click here for an article about different blue icings with color comparisons.
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.
For an article about which colors are in the Americolor Junior Set, click here.
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.
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.
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.
This set is a really good basic set that gives you a lot of potential for mixing colors. With the red, yellow, and blue you can make a lot of other colors, and the secondary colors are pretty pure so that you can use them as a starting point for mixing colors like teal or lavender.
Click to see the Basic Six food coloring set on Amazon.
