Edible ink printing facts for kids
Edible ink printing is a cool way to put pictures or designs onto yummy treats like cakes, cookies, and pastries. Imagine your favorite photo printed right on your birthday cake! This special printing uses food colors that are safe to eat, and it can be done in two ways: either the pictures are printed beforehand, or they are made using a special printer called an edible ink printer.
This printer uses thin, edible paper. This paper is made from things like starches and sugars. The special food colors used are called edible inks. Some of these inks and papers have been checked and approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States. This means they are considered safe for you to eat.
What is Edible Paper?
Edible paper is a very thin sheet that you can eat! Long ago, people used rice paper for this. Today, we mostly use "frosting sheets." These sheets are made from starches and sugars.
- Safe to eat: This paper is completely safe to eat and won't hurt you.
- No strong taste: Most edible paper doesn't have much flavor. It also has a very light texture.
- How it works: You can print on edible paper using a special printer. When you put the printed paper onto a moist surface, like cake icing, it slowly dissolves. The cool part is that the picture stays clear and looks like it was printed right onto the icing!
The idea of printing on food has been around for a while. The first official permission (called a patent) for food printing in the U.S. was given in 1981 to a person named George J. Krubert from the Keebler Company.
What are Edible Inks?
Edible inks are the special food colors used to print on edible paper. They are very popular now and are used with special printers.
- Safety first: It's super important to only use inks that are made for eating. Regular printer inks are not safe to swallow and can be harmful.
- Special printers: You can use some regular inkjet or bubblejet printers for edible ink printing. However, it's much safer to use a printer that is only used for edible inks. This makes sure that no old, unsafe ink mixes with the edible ink.
- Ink types: Some edible inks come as a powder. If they dissolve easily in water, they work just like other liquid edible inks without losing their quality.
Edible paper and inks are used to decorate many different treats. You can find them on cakes, cookies, cupcakes, and even marshmallows!
