Edible gold and silver are gold and silver leaf, metal that it is beaten so incredibly thin that it can be eaten (the metals are not digested or absorbed but pass right through the body). The gold is 22 or 23 karat; some products are even certified kosher and halal!

• Silver leaf embellishment of food is a very old tradition in India, for both sweet and savory dishes.
• In India, and in 15th-century Europe, edible gold was used medicinally.
• Italian royalty of the 16th century decorated savory dishes with edible gold; sweets covered in edible gold were served during afternoon meals as “heart-healthy” food.
• In England, the cooks of wealthy Elizabethans added gold dust to fruits piled high in big bowls on banquet tables.

Chocolate mousse never looked so good.
Photo courtesy of GildedPlanet.com.

• More recently, the Japanese have been adding edible gold to foods and to saké; American mixologists have been known to shake a few gold flakes into Champagne flutes. And chocolatiers and pastry chefs worldwide have been adding golden glamour to fine chocolates and desserts.

There is no limit to the quantity of edible gold or silver that can be ingested (it’s more what you can afford); but the idea is to provide visual beauty, since gold leaf and silver leaf have no flavor or aroma. Note that these are European standards; edible gold and silver have never been approved by the FDA because no one has ever sought to have them approved. That’s because there’s very little use of edible gold and silver in the U.S., outside the highest levels of chocolate- and pastry-making.

You can purchase the products in shakers for as little as $29.95 at GildedPlanet.com and turn your Christmas or New Year’s Eve dinner into something memorable. Not to mention, gold-dusted cornflakes or bagels to start the new year. The website also has gold-and-recipe kits that make nice gifts for people who cook with panache.