Gold for Food

Gold is totally safe when ingested. It is anallergenic, neutral in taste and chemically inert. Both the European Union and the United States authorize the use of gold to decorate food. In the luxury food industry, it is used in the form of powder, leaves, flakes or sprinkles. 

Edible gold is a delight to amateurs of luxury cuisine all around the world.

The biggest consumer is India, with an estimated 12 tons of culinary gold per year. Gold leaf is used to decorate traditional pastries, as well as certain lamb-based delicacies served at weddings and religious festivals. In China, certain types of venison are sprinkled with gold, and in Japan, it is customary to exchange good wishes for the new year over a cup of sake containing gold. Some of the Japan's finest chefs garnish their best sashimi with fine gold. In Pakistan, gold is sometimes consumed for its supposed aphrodisiac and stimulating properties.

In France and Switzerland, renowned chocolatier artisans decorate their truffles, a magical experience for the tastebuds, with fragments of gold leaf.

DELAFÉE, THE MAGIC OF GOLD

Edible gold is a current trend in luxury restauration, as well as with pastry chefs and chocolatiers. But this is hardly a new phenomenon, as enthusiasm for the precious metal in gastronomy dates back thousand of years. Since Antiquity, gold has been prized for its esthetic qualities, its symbolic strength, and sometimes for its supposed magical power. DeLafée has artfully created unique epicurean products, decorated with edible gold: luxurious, unforgettable presents that express love, passion and succes.

DeLafée, the ambassador of your emotions.

Gold is an edible metal. The European Union and the United States authorize its use as a food additive, under the code E 175. DeLafée's edible gold complies with European and American food additive standard.You can order the finest edible gold from DeLafée on this website, or by phone by calling the following number:
+41 - 32 - 724 48 60    or    +41 - 32 - 724 48 60 .

Add a touch of magic to your favorite recipes.

This description of the use of gold in ancient and modern medicine is for informational purposes only. DeLafée International SARL does not suggest that the consumption of its products have any therapeutic effects.

Many ancient cultures, such as those in Egypt and India used gold-based medicinal preparations.

Extensive information is available on the early therapeutic use of gold in China. In “Salt and Iron” (81 BC), Huan Kuan of the Western Dynasty wrote,: “… immortals swallow gold and pearls, so that they enjoy eternal life in heaven and earth.” In the Eastern Dynasty, Ge Hong (281-341 AD) wrote that gold “tempers the body of a human being, and he enjoys eternal life”.

In Japan, tradition suggests that thin gold-foils placed into tea, sake and food are beneficial to health.

This use of gold compounds in the medical field is called chrysotherapy. More recently, Jacques Forestier reported in 1929 that the use of gold complexes was beneficial in the treatment of arthritis. Later work after the Second World War established that gold drugs are effective in treating rheumatoid arthritis.

In the last few years, the properties of gold compounds have been researched as potential HIV and cancer treatments. Recently, researchers at the National University of Singapore patented new gold complexes for use in pharmaceuticals for the treatment of cancer.

Gold's excellent biocompatibility and high resistance to bacterial colonization have led to various uses in medicine. Apart from the obvious use of gold alloys in dentistry, there are a number of current applications of gold in medical devices, such as wires for pacemakers and implants used in microsurgery of the ear.