What Is Gel Food Coloring? Uses, Types and What to Use for Chocolate

Short answer: gel food colouring is a concentrated, water-soluble colour in gel form, made to colour water-based or emulsion-based preparations in the mass: fondant and sugar paste, cream, glazes, cookie doughs and meringues. Because it is water-soluble, it is not the colour the professional catalogues specify for chocolate or cocoa butter: for those you need a fat-soluble colour. Below: which colour type fits which job, and the Pavoni Italia colours we stock for each one.

Quick answer: which colour for which job

What you are colouring	Colour type	Example at Zucchero Canada
Macarons, sugar paste, royal icing, artistic sugar	Water-soluble powder	Pavoni Absolute cherry red, 50 g $40.50 CAD
Airbrushing fondant, cakes, macarons, cookies	Water-soluble liquid	Pavoni airbrush colour red, 190 ml $23.50 CAD
Glazes, doughs, creams with a plant-based colour	Natural powder	Pavoni Seasons natural red, 80 g $44.99 CAD
Chocolate in the mass, fat-based glazes	Fat-soluble liquid	Pavoni fat-soluble red, 180 g $40.50 CAD
Cocoa butter you colour yourself	Fat-soluble powder	Pavoni Chocolart red powder, 40 g $46.99 CAD
Painting chocolate moulds, chocolate surfaces	Coloured cocoa butter	Pavoni Chocolart red cocoa butter, 200 g $79.99 CAD

What gel food colouring is

Gel food colouring is a water-soluble colour sold as a thick gel rather than a thin liquid or a dry powder. Martellato's food-colour catalogue describes its gel as a "concentrated water-soluble gel dye", ideal for colouring in the mass "all water-based or emulsion-based products such as fondant, cream, glazes, cookies, and meringues". That is the job a gel does: it dissolves in the water of a preparation and colours it right through.

The ingredients of a gel colour depend on the brand, so read the label of the one you use: it lists the colouring agents and the base they are carried in. The same applies to the dose. Suppliers note that the intensity you get depends on the mass you colour, the amount of colour and the conditions of use, so always test a shade on a small batch before you colour a full one.

Gel, liquid, powder or cocoa butter: the six colour types

The real choice is not gel versus liquid. It is water-soluble versus fat-soluble, then the form that suits your process. This is how the Martellato and Pavoni Italia catalogues and our product data assign each type:

Colour type	Dissolves in	Made for
Water-soluble gel	Water	Fondant, cream, glazes, cookies, meringues (Martellato catalogue)
Water-soluble powder (Pavoni Absolute, 50 g)	Water	Artistic sugar, macarons, sugar paste and icing; high colour density
Water-soluble liquid (Pavoni, 190 ml)	Water	Airbrush: fondant and sugar paste, cakes, macarons, cookies
Fat-soluble liquid (Pavoni, 180 g)	Fat	Colouring masses of chocolate and all fat masses
Fat-soluble powder (Pavoni Chocolart, 40 g)	Cocoa butter	High colour density, melted into cocoa butter
Coloured cocoa butter (Pavoni Chocolart, 200 g)	Ready to use	Colouring chocolate in the mass, on the surface and in the mould

A powder adds no liquid to your mix; the Absolute line is listed for macarons and sugar work. For the powder form, Martellato's catalogue advises sprinkling it on the cold mixture and emulsifying it with a professional hand blender.

View water-soluble powder colours →

Can you use gel food colouring in chocolate?

No: for chocolate, use a fat-soluble colour. Gel colour is water-soluble, while both Pavoni and Martellato specify fat-soluble colours for chocolate and cocoa butter. Pavoni gives you three fat-soluble formats, each with its own job:

• Fat-soluble liquid, 180 g: ready to use, for colouring chocolate masses, cocoa butter blends, fat-based glazes and white chocolate. View the red fat-soluble liquid → $40.50 CAD
• Chocolart fat-soluble powder, 40 g: you melt it into cocoa butter to make your own coloured cocoa butter. View the red Chocolart powder → $46.99 CAD
• Chocolart coloured cocoa butter, 200 g: ready to use, for colouring chocolate in the mass, on the surface and in moulds. View the red Chocolart cocoa butter → $79.99 CAD

If you want a plant-based colour for chocolate, Pavoni's Seasons cocoa butter concentrates are made from plant extracts and listed as vegan friendly, for chocolate masses, direct mould application and velvet glazes: View Seasons natural red cocoa butter → $73.99 CAD

To spray coloured cocoa butter or velvet finishes, there are two formats. Pavoni's Ciocospritz $6,540.00 CAD is a 24 kg, 250 W spraying machine for tempered chocolate and substitutes, with separate air and product controls and heating that keeps the chocolate tempered (adjustable up to 60 °C); Pavoni lists an air compressor and a trolley as its accessories. For a handheld sprayer, the KREA Swiss chocSPRAYER $1,250.00 CAD has a heated nozzle and an insulated 700 ml container that keep pre-tempered chocolate workable for up to an hour, without a compressor. It does not temper: bring the chocolate to working temperature first.

View all colours for chocolate →

Finishing colours: velvet, metallic and pastel sprays

For a finish rather than a coloured mass, Pavoni has ready-to-use cans. The Dolce Velluto velvet sprays are coloured cocoa butter for a velvet effect on frozen desserts, mousse cakes and chocolate (400 ml, E171 and AZO free). The Brilliant metallic powders give a pearlescent effect on chocolate, sugar and pastillage, used dry or dissolved in food-grade alcohol.

• View Dolce Velluto red velvet spray → from $56.99 CAD
• View Brilliant gold metallic powder → $56.99 CAD

View velvet effect sprays →

What "E171 free" and "AZO free" mean on a colour label

E171 is the European code for titanium dioxide, a white food colour; in May 2021 the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded that it can no longer be considered safe as a food additive. Every Pavoni colour linked in this guide is labelled E171 free in our product data. Pavoni also marks some colours "AZO free" in its catalogue and in our product data, as with the Dolce Velluto sprays. If you sell into markets with their own colour rules, check each label against the rules that apply to you.

How AI can help your production

Colour is where small differences show. Ask an AI assistant to set up a colour book for your kitchen: for each shade, the product code, the grams of colour per kilogram of mass, the base it goes into and a photo of the result. Ask it to scale each formula to your batch sizes and to work out the colour cost per batch from the prices on this page. A written formula means a shade made in March matches the one made in December.

AI organises the information; tasting and the final decision stay with your chef.

Pavoni Italia colours at Zucchero Canada

Zucchero Canada is an authorized distributor of Pavoni Italia. Our colour range covers both families: water-soluble Absolute powders and airbrush liquids for sugar work, macarons and cakes; fat-soluble Chocolart powders, fat-soluble liquids and ready-to-use Chocolart cocoa butters for chocolate; Seasons natural colours; and velvet, pastel and metallic sprays for finishing. Pick the family by what you colour (water-based or fat-based), then the form by how you work (in the mass, painted in the mould, airbrushed or sprayed).

View all food colours →

Orders over CAD 500 get 5% off automatically at checkout. For regular volumes for a pastry shop, chocolate shop or hotel, contact our team or call 587-774-8873 (toll free 877-741-8251).

Food colours | Colours for chocolate | Coloured cocoa butter | Natural powder colours | Food colouring in candy melts | What red food colouring is made from

This article is for information only. Every business is different: draw your own conclusions based on your own expectations, budget and goals, and talk to qualified experts before you decide or invest.

Sources: Martellato, Food Colours catalogue 2024 (gel, powder and liposoluble colour descriptions and usage tips); Pavoni Italia, Food Equipment catalogue 2026, "Colours & raw materials"; Pavoni Italia, machines catalogue (Ciocospritz); Zucchero Canada product data for each Pavoni and KREA Swiss product linked; EFSA, "Titanium dioxide: E171 no longer considered safe when used as a food additive" (6 May 2021).