Edible gold

Cake with golden flakes

Edible gold is a particular type of gold authorized by the European Union and the United States as a food additive, under the code E 175. It is used in the haute cuisine in a gastronomical trend towards extravagant meals. It can be employed in foods and beverages such as in cookies decoration, wines or liquors; as sushi garnishment; or over ice cream. There are neither negative effects nor benefits from eating gold since it is biologically inert, and it is suitable for use in food since it does not oxidize or corrode in moist air, unlike many other metals.

Technical specifications and production

Edible gold must fulfill the specifications from the applicable food safety standards. It has to be pure, to avoid any type of infections or perils for the body. Gold usually undergoes one of these processes: it could be hammered, or pounded and rolled, or just a leaf or powder. In the first case, the gold needs to reach the measure of about 1/8000 of a millimeter thick, in the second one it could be used as a normal leaf (the measure depends on the purpose) or smashed in powder.

History

Edible gold dates back in time and it could be found in many regions of the World and in different ages. The earliest evidence about the use of edible gold is among the ancient Egyptians, almost 5000 years ago, where the use of gold were well-known in many fields]. The Egyptians used also the gold for mental, bodily and spiritual purification because they believed it to have divine effects. The alchemists of Alexandria developed various medicine and elixirs with drinkable gold, which as they believed had effects on restoring and rejuvenating the body. It is believed that Cleopatra practiced these treatments with gold every night, as though having baths with gold and using facemask of pure gold.

Ancient Egyptians were not the only ones to use gold as a decorative food and beverage garnish; it could be found also in the eastern countries such as Japan, China and India, mostly for medicine or mysterious elixir made by court physicians.

Edible gold was famous among the courts of the kings of European countries in the Middle Ages, implemented as food decoration and as symbol of extreme luxury and prestige among vassals and courtiers. Ancients court physicians believed that gold helps with arthritis and other body problems such as sore limbs.

During the Renaissance, Paracelsus (1493–1541) – considered the founder of the modern pharmacology – developed a variety of medicines using few quantities of edible gold in the form of pills or gold powder.

From the Modern age – and until the twentieth century – gold was associated with medicines. It was common to find the application of some piece of gold in articulated and expensive drugs, using little pills or powder inside the medicine, or as a supplement for food to refill minerals in the human body.

Health effects

Gold is a noble metal and for this reason it does not react inside human bodies. This means that it is not absorbed during the digestion process, so it is safe to eat. However, there are no nutritional or health benefits associated with its consumption. Purity of edible gold must be 23–24 karats, above that used in typical jewelry, which may contain other metals and can be toxic if consumed. The effects and safety of E-175 were first evaluated back in 1975 and recently re-evaluated in 2016 by EFSA ( European Food Safety Authority) when using the metal as an additive or food coloring. The agency has authorized the use of gold as food additive at quantum satis in the external coating of confectionery, decoration of chocolates and in liqueurs. Nevertheless, it states that:

the specifications for gold (E 175) should include the mean particle size and particle size distribution (± SD), as well as the percentage (in number) of particles in the nanoscale (with at least one dimension below 100 nm), present in the powder form of gold (E 175). The methodology applied should comply with the EFSA Guidance document. Exposure estimates of gold (E 175) reached up to 1.32 µg/kg body weight (bw)/day in the maximum level exposure assessment scenario and up to 0.33 µg/kg bw/day in the refined, non-brand-loyal, exposure scenario.

Production

Worldwide there are several manufacturers specialized in the production of edible gold. In Italy, for example, Giusto Manetti Battiloro S.p.A. produces gold and silver leaf for both cuisine and beauty purposes; in the UK, one of the biggest suppliers of edible gold and silver is Conneisseur Gold with a customer range from major supermarket chains, Christmas pudding manufactures, distillers, Michelin-starred restaurants, food distributors, specialist cake makers, cosmetic companies and individuals (for home use). CornucAupia is one the famous distributors in the US, with a supply chain that begins and ends in North America in order to guarantee purity along the way.

In the Asian market, Horikin Ltd is the pioneer of gold leaf in Japan, where there is a strong cultural use of gold in tea. There are several manufacturers in Germany, such as Goldmarie and Gold Gourmet and the Swiss DeLafée.

The main buyers of edible gold are luxurious restaurants that want to provide an effect of wealth on their food and a new experience to their customers. The most well known restaurants that include in their menu some dishes with gold are based in Dubai, Malta, New York, Washington, D.C. and London. However, the trend starts spreading even in little restaurants. The restaurant "Finger's Garden", in Milan started offering sushi-dishes covered in gold. Edible gold sheets, flakes or powder can be easily found in the online market as well.

Practical details of the applications

Edible gold can be used in mainly three different shapes to garnish foods and beverages: leaf-shaped, in flakes or in powder. Among the dishes and beverages in which edible gold is implemented there are cakes and sweet desserts, soups, pastas, risottos, sushi, cocktails and wines. Since it is used as tasteless garnish, edible gold is usually the ingredient at the top of the dish at direct contact with food. In most of the recipes requiring gold in flakes or dust, it is usually dabbed with a knife or sprinkled on the top. Gold is added during the bottling of wines and liqueurs and it is generally mixed during cocktails’ preparation. More recently, gold leaves have been used to garnish steak and hamburgers: Hard Rock Café’s “24-Karat Gold Leaf Steak Burger” was sold in USA for 7$ extra than the one without the metallic garnish. Salt Bae, the chef owner of the Nusr-Et restaurants chain, includes in his menu a steak entirely covered by gold, sold at 650€ in Greece.

In consumer culture

Spread through social media has been linked with rising demand for edible gold in the 21st century. As a consequence, conspicuous consumption of luxury became the driver of edible gold consumption and its dissemination in almost every region of the world today. Started as a viral phenomenon in Dubai, a proliferation of restaurants and pastries using edible gold in their recipes reached more countries and more popular and accessible cafés and restaurants.

Symbolism is the pivotal feature of edible gold consumption, since it is exclusively an aesthetic garnish. By decorating food with gold, chefs aim to provide a dish that can be quickly recognized as luxurious and extravagant, elevating their status to a "culinary artist". The importance of the artistic value of a dish decorated with gold gains relevance in the contemporary society due to the general prioritization of sight over the rest of the senses, thus influencing even the culinary environment.

Edible gold is considered luxurious because it is rare in the ever-competitive arena of fine dining, even though its spread is reaching more and more regions of the world. Furthermore, the visual impact of a golden – and edible – dish gives it an artistic, precious, and extravagant aura that is what mainly attract consumers.

In addition to its physical characteristic – its shiny and sunny color – gold embodies several social values – especially the displaying of social power – that are extremely relevant from earlier eras.

Nowadays, many chefs are including edible gold in their restaurants’ offer, among them: "Nusr-Et Steakhouse", Dubai; "Serendipity 3", New York; "Margo’s Pizzeria", Malta; "Hard Rock Cafe", New York, Times Square; "Il Marchesino", Milan.