Gold and silver dragées have been used in decorating for many years. You may remember them from your mother or grandmother’s Christmas cookies. Dragées are a great way to add elegance to your decorating. A few sprinkled on cupcakes can take them from plain to sophisticated. Add a couple of dragées to the center of icing flowers or in the border of a wedding cake for a beautiful and classy look. A small amount of these metallic decorative beads can go a long way!
There is some debate on whether or not these little decorations are edible or not. While the inside is made of a hard sugar pearl, the outside coating is made of silver. Many have been eating them on their holiday cookies for years without realizing that the outside coating has real metal in it. The FDA considers the dragées to be inedible and should be for decorative use only. Although the dragées may look enticing, they are labeled as decoration only and should be removed before eating.
Since the dragées are considered decorative use only, suppliers do not necessarily have to list ingredients or Kosher certification. Whether you see ingredients or not, you should still remove the dragées before serving. While Dragées can be sold in 49 states, they are no longer allowed to be sold in or to California due to a 2003 lawsuit.
When applying dragées, it may be best to use tweezers to pick up the metallic decorations. The delicate coating can rub off if handled too much. Attach the dragées to a cake using a dab of frosting or edible glue, or sprinkle over wet icing. These metallic decorations will definitely add elegance to your decorating and make a statement!
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