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The Monégasque Table

The Monégasque Table

Written by: MONÉGASQUE
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Straight answers about edible glitter — is it safe, how much do you use, and is it really worth it? The Monégasque Table is a show where two hosts, Margaux and Dana, settle the questions home bakers and party hosts actually ask: safety, value, technique, and what the label really means. Every episode answers one question, gives the verdict up front, and says honestly who should skip it. Brought to you by MONÉGASQUE. Produced with AI-crafted hosts and human-checked facts.© 2026 MONEGASQUE LLC Art Cooking Food & Wine
Episodes
  • What Is a Certified Color Additive? Reading the Two Halves of the Label

    What Is a Certified Color Additive? Reading the Two Halves of the Label
    Oct 18 2026
    What is a certified color additive, and does edible glitter use them? A certified color is a dye whose every batch the FDA checks before it can be sold. The maker submits a sample; the FDA runs at least 10 analyses — purity, moisture, residual salts, unreacted intermediates, subsidiary colors, and the heavy metals lead, arsenic and mercury — typically in under five working days, and a passing batch is certified. Those are the synthetic FD&C dyes in part 74, titled "Color Additives Subject to Certification." Part 73, "Color Additives Exempt from Certification," holds colors generally from plants, minerals or animals — including mica-based pearlescent pigment, titanium dioxide and iron oxide — approved as a type, with limits written into each listing. The FDA says both classes must meet the same safety standard. The label rule, 21 CFR 101.22(k), makes certified dyes name themselves and lets exempt colors hide behind "color added," so a named dye is certified by definition. Edible glitter labels commonly carry both halves. A bakery owner's inspector asked "is the color certified?"; Dana wins the round that this is the wrong question, and the right one is the ingredient list plus two documents — a product specification and a written regulatory statement naming the food categories. No jar is "certified": the word attaches to dye batches, not products. In this episode: - Sparkle Lab: the two halves of the rulebook and what batch certification physically is - Why "exempt" means checked differently, not checked less - The label rule that makes certified dyes name themselves - The inspector conversation, twice: how it went and how it should go - Why a safety data sheet is not the document that answers the color question Who should skip it: home bakers who want the simple label checklist, anyone shopping for a "certified glitter" badge, and anyone who wants a podcast to rule on a specific jar. MONÉGASQUE 15 gram luster dust is on Amazon at $14.99 standard; check the listing for current pricing. Full transcript on the episode page. New questions answered every week at The Monégasque Table. **Direct answer (top):** A certified color additive is a synthetic dye whose every batch the FDA analyzes — at least 10 analyses, typically in under five working days — before it can be sold; these are the FD&C colors in 21 CFR part 74. Part 73 lists colors exempt from certification, approved as a type with limits written into each listing, and the FDA says both must meet the same safety standard. Edible glitter commonly carries both: a mica-based pigment from part 73 and, in tinted shades, a named FD&C dye from part 74. - 00:00 Cold open — two halves of the pantry - 00:40 The bakery owner and the inspector's question - 01:10 The verdict: what certification is, and the two halves - 03:00 Sparkle Lab: the certified half and the batch process - 05:00 The exempt half, and why exempt is not unchecked - 07:00 The label rule: named dyes, "color added," and carmine - 09:00 The glitter jar: which half is which - 10:30 "Are your jars certified?" — why the word doesn't attach to jars - 12:00 Dana's round: the wrong question and the right one - 13:00 The safety data sheet, and the two documents that speak to food - 15:00 The inspector conversation, done properly - 16:30 Who should skip it · Dana's Scorecard · footnote · two teases Produced with AI-crafted hosts. Full transcript on the episode page.
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    18 mins
  • Edible Glitter on Peppermint Bark: The Fridge Is the Problem

    Edible Glitter on Peppermint Bark: The Fridge Is the Problem
    Oct 17 2026
    How do you put edible glitter on peppermint bark without it coming out of the fridge grey? Glitter the last layer while it is wet, then keep it cold. A peppermint-bark recipe builds three layers, chills each one 10 to 15 minutes until almost set — if a layer sets completely the layers can separate — tops the final white layer with crushed candy cane before its last chill, and keeps the finished bark covered in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. The glitter goes on at the same moment as the candy cane, because freshly poured chocolate grabs it with no adhesive at all. The grey finish is condensation: cold bark meeting warm kitchen air every time the fridge door opens to show someone, and the chocolate guides say condensation ruins a dusted finish. Pick a color rather than white, because white flake vanishes on white chocolate, and use flake rather than dust so it sits proud like the candy shards. Dana wins the round about the calendar: the 3 weeks is the maker's window, not the gift's — the recipe says a tin at room temperature has a few days — so make it late and gift it fast. In this episode: - Where in the recipe the glitter goes, and why it must go on wet - Sparkle Lab: the fridge door, not the fridge - Red or green flake on white chocolate, never white on white - Dana's round: 3 weeks in your fridge, days on the neighbor's counter - Ten weeks out: this weekend is the rehearsal batch Who should skip it: bark that ships in the mail or a warm van, and bark that will live on a warm counter. MONÉGASQUE Cherry Red 10 gram drink glitter is on Amazon at $14.99 standard; check the listing for current pricing. Full transcript on the episode page. New questions answered every week at The Monégasque Table. **Direct answer (top):** Add the glitter to the final white-chocolate layer while it is still wet, at the same moment as the crushed candy cane, then chill. Freshly poured chocolate holds glitter with no adhesive. The grey, sweating finish is condensation from cold bark meeting warm air, so keep the bark cold and covered — the recipe allows up to 3 weeks in the fridge — and take it out once, straight into the tin. Use red or green flake, not white on white. - 00:00 Cold open — six neighbors, grey bark - 00:25 The verdict: wet layer, candy cane, then cold - 01:15 The fridge door, not the fridge - 01:45 Sparkle Lab: the chocolate window and the recipe's clock - 02:40 Which color, and flake over dust - 03:10 Dana's round: the maker's 3 weeks versus the neighbor's days - 04:00 Who should skip it · Dana's Scorecard · footnote Produced with AI-crafted hosts. Full transcript on the episode page.
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    6 mins
  • Edible Glitter for a Christmas Cookie Exchange: Which Jar for 4 Dozen

    Edible Glitter for a Christmas Cookie Exchange: Which Jar for 4 Dozen
    Oct 16 2026
    How much edible glitter do you need for a Christmas cookie exchange, and which jar? The 7 gram, almost always — and the invitation decides it. A hosting guide's standard format is 8 to 12 guests, each bringing 36 to 48 homemade cookies with a recipe card that lists allergens. That is three to four dozen of one cookie, glittered once. The 7 gram luster dust is $9.99, about $1.43 per gram; the 15 gram is $14.99, about $1.00 per gram — the better rate and, for one swap, the wrong jar, because the real cost is the unfinished jar: half a 15 gram jar is about $7.50 of product in a cupboard. No per-cookie dose is published and the printed 0.1 gram serving is a drinks number, so the method is to dust a test dozen from a small dish and multiply. Dust behind the flood while the icing is wet and glossy, on icing day, never on swap morning. Dana wins the round about paperwork: the recipe card has to say what the shimmer is, so the jar must carry an ingredient list with its color additives named — which the FDA advisory says makers are required by law to provide. In this episode: - The per-gram board, read in full, and why the rate is only real if the jar gets finished - A test dozen instead of an invented per-cookie dose - When to dust: behind the flood, on Friday, not Saturday - Dana's round: the recipe card is the test the jar has to pass - One color, picked against the icing, not against Christmas Who should skip it: shortbread, snickerdoodles and biscotti with no icing, bars and brownies without a glaze, and anyone who would rather not write a color additive on a recipe card. MONÉGASQUE 7 gram luster dust is on Amazon at $9.99 standard in 13 colors; check the listing for current pricing. Full transcript on the episode page. New questions answered every week at The Monégasque Table. **Direct answer (top):** Buy the 7 gram jar. A standard cookie exchange is 8 to 12 guests each bringing 36 to 48 cookies, so you are glittering three to four dozen of one cookie once, and the 7 gram luster dust at $9.99 covers it. The 15 gram at $14.99 has the better per-gram rate but only pays off if the jar is used across the season. Dust the icing while it is wet, on icing day, and copy the jar's ingredient list onto the recipe card. - 00:00 Cold open — 4 dozen, homemade, with a card - 00:35 The verdict: the 7 gram, and why the invitation decides - 01:30 Dana contests the rate; the unfinished-jar arithmetic - 02:30 The board in full, including the 12-color box - 03:20 How much per cookie: the test dozen - 04:10 When to dust, and the dry-tray rescue - 05:10 Dana's round: the recipe card is the test - 06:30 Which color, against the icing - 07:10 Who should skip it · Dana's Scorecard · footnote Produced with AI-crafted hosts. Full transcript on the episode page.
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    8 mins
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