I receive many emails everyday regarding the different “Gums” as they are called available on the market! I know it’s all quite confusing especially to those who are just getting started in working with Sugarpaste also know as fondant or gum paste.
Let me point out that when I say sugarpaste I am referring to fondant or gumpaste, because both are made with is sugar and just a few other ingredients and is a dough like paste that is used to cover cakes, create flowers and my favorite of course which is creating hand sculpted figurines.
When I say sugar flowers as I do often times I am really talking about gumpaste flowers.
Now lets talk about all the different “Gums” as they are often called.
First one that we will discuss is Tylose Powder and the one that I always use. Tylose Powder is less expensive than most gums on the market however it can be tough to locate since it is mostly avail. through the internet, you can find it at some of the specialty cake supply stores but not at Michaels Craft Store or Joanns. Tylose powder is used in some gumpaste recipes but you can add it to plain fondant to create a quick version of Gumpaste for my creating figurines and sugar flowers. Tylose powder is a fine powder you can work into fondant to make a really quick transition to gumpaste.
To create a quick gumpaste with fondant just Add 1 -3 tsp of Tylose powder to 1lb of fondant. Dry humidity areas use less Tylose - High humidity areas use more Tylose. Knead it in very well to your fondant. If you are using a pre-made Gum paste you don’t need to add any Gums to your paste because it already has some form of Gums in it. I usually don’t use a pound of fondant at a time when creating my figurines so I use small pinches of tylose powder to my fondant until I get the consistency I am looking for.
Gum Trag or the long version of the name….. gum tragicanth is another gum additive used in many different recipes to make gumpaste and pastillage. It add strength and stretch to the final product.
Gum Tex is more readily available to most and is made by Wilton. Like gum tragicanth, gum tex is an ingredient to make gum paste pliable, elastic & easy to shape.
Gum Arabic - a versatile hydrocolloid that has many applications. A superior emulsifier, widely used in the production of beverage and flavor emulsions and meal replacers. Its low viscosity and adhesive properties, meanwhile, make gum arabic an excellent ingredient for coating cereal, confections, and snack foods. For bakery products, the gum’s binding and emulsification abilities aid in the formulation of icings and frostings as well as baked goods like cakes and muffins. Beyond foods and beverages, gum arabic has been long used in lithographic processes and pharmaceutical products. A natural gum additive that can be used as an edible glue to stick pieces of modeling paste together when mixed with water. This additive can also be added into Royal Icing to give it more strength.
Mix 2 tsp. of Gum Arabic with 2 ounces of water to make a gum glue. Gum glue is used to Gumpaste figurines, bows and other objects together
CMC Powder or sometimes referred to as Super Gum and CMC Gum, and the technical name Sodium Carboxymethyl Cellulose Gum, or just Cellulose Gum is frequently used as a thickener and a texture ingredient in many applications throughout the food service industry. Food grade and industrial grade CMC Gum is also known as cellulose gum. It is derived from purified cellulose such as cotton linters. CMC Gum helps products retain moisture. CMC Gum is a man-made gum. CMC produces the highest cohesiveness (such as sticking together). CMC is frequently used as a thickener and a texture ingredient in many applications used in the food service industry. Also CMC gum helps products retain moisture.
Hopefully I did not confuse you even more with all this information, I know that many are not sure what each of these are for so I thought I would list each one to give you a basic idea, for future reference.
Tags: are tylose powder and cmc pwder the same, Cake Decorating, cake decorating with donna, fFondant, gum paste, what is cmc powder, what is gum tex, What is tylose powder
Hi,
Can i add gum mix to fondant can to make flowers? This willbe gum paste?.
Thank you
Maria, yes you can add a gum mix to the fondant for making flowers, adding a gum product turns the fondant into a quick gumpaste.
I have brought Sugar Paste to use on a mould that will make mini masquerade masks.
Do i need to add one of theses ‘Gums’
And which one would be best??
i want them to set and go hard so i can draw on them with food pens
Sharon if you are using gumpaste you do not need to add any gums to it, for those who dont know what I mean by gums, I am referring to tylose powder, cmc powder or gum trag.
If you are using regular fondant then yes you would add a gum ingredient to it. The best way to go about doing this project….make sure you make your masks up and allow them
to set up for 2 to 3 days and them it will be much easier to paint on them with the edible markers.
All my best!!
Hi, I am from India and newly starting up making figurines. I would like to know if I can add CMC to fondant to make figurines dry up faster. Also, how much CMC should I be adding. I must say the figurines you have made look really really cute.
Yes, Cmc powder can be used and added to your fondant…..add 1 to 2 teaspoons to 1 pound of fondant if you are making a batch of it. Now if I am making a for example a little dog figure I just add a few pinches of tylose or cmc powder to the ball of fondant that I intend to use for my dog. I hope this makes sense to you. I wish you the best with your figures!!
Am just starting out and mostly on my own. Really appreciated your definitions of powders used in gum paste. Have a question, tho. When I make the fondant to cover the cake, should I add tylos to that as well, or is the tylos added just to the fondant I will be using to make flowers, etc? Would really appreciate some help here–and thanks!
Welcome to the world of cake decorating!!! You only need to add tylosepowder/cmc powder to fondant that you will be creating flowers or figurines with, not your fondant that you are going to cover a cake with. Hope this helps you!!
hi, oh wow, what a head turn, well i have also just started making fondant cakes , i have very little acsess except over the internet as to what i can order, i make my fondant from icing, gelatine and glucosse is this wrong, it does dry a little quick i have no clue as to wear i can get glycerine!!! thats all up untill now i make everything from fondant , i want to make gum paste but dont know how, (*have read tooooo many recipes) what would you say are the must haves, should i use wiltons gum paste mix just add water soooo confused i’m pretty good with what i have but am seeking perfection, cracks and mistakes annoy me please help do i need tex and tylose … thank you for your time
Paras
Hello Paras
Sorry to just be getting to your question, I get soo many and it takes some time to make sure I get all the info together to reply to all who ask questions….to answer your question…Glycerin is available online, now I know that there are many cake supply companies here in the U.S. that do not ship world wide but what I did find is that there are a few people on ebay that do ship worldwide and they have the glycerin that you need.. Here is the link to the ebay person that I was talking about……http://www.ebay.com/itm/GLYCERINE-100ml-Glycerin-sugarcraft-cake-decorating-NEW-/290438448795?pt=Uk_Crafts_Cake_Decorating_MJ&hash=item439f7b069b
To be honest regarding the gumpaste it may be easier to start with the mix avail. from Wilton to get you started working with it. I do not make my own anymore since I can purchase it online here in the U.S. I purshase the Satin Ice brand and love it. But if you would like to make your own I plan to add a good recipe to use to my site since everyone is asking for a good one to use. To be honest perfection with fondant or gumpaste comes over time, I was horrible in the beginning and it seemed as though the more I worked with it the better things got. You have to have patience in cake decorating, give yourself a pat on the back each and everytime that you try something new. It is not easy learning all these new techniques….If everyone could have seen all my mistakes back in the beginning you would feel much better cause it does happen to ALL of us in the beginnning!! Please take my word for it, it does get easier dealing with all the little issue that come up. In my opinion becoming a great cake decorator is NOT someone who makes beautiful creations, but someone who learns to deal with all the mistakes, problems, and issues that come up when making and decorating a cake…..because you gain your experience during those times that you solve an issue, or fix a crack in your icing and so on!! I hope this all makes sense to you Paras, I know that its overwhelming at times my friend but you are doing just fine….just keep going and do your best……
Oh and as far as Tylose powder you do not need it unless you are making your own gumpaste, or using it to add to fondant for making flowers or figurines.
Hi!
Could you help me!! I make little babies for cupcakes with the gumpaste recipe on the gum-tex container. But with the hot weather it takes a long to for them to dry. Could you tell me could I add some Tylose to it? I make them and sell them and when they don’t dry it’s hard to ship them out! Or could you tell me what is the best way to make a good gumpaste or fondant that will dry really hard & fast!!
Thanks!
Dena
Dena…Sorry to be just getting to your question with the summer i am very backed up with soooo many questions!!
If I were you I would purchase the Wilton fondant which sets up very nice and quckly so that you can create and ship quicker than with the recipe that your using now! Since the Wilton fondant taste sooo bad I only use it for making figurines I love the way it sets up and dries nice and hard! Hope this helps you….All my best my friend!
Hi there, I’m a long-time baker who’s making my own gumpaste for the first time (I usually buy pre-made). I prefer gumpaste made with Tylose so I bought powdered gumpaste mix (CK Products) and some Tylose (also by CK Products). The powdered gumpaste mix says it contains “vegetable gums”, so I’m not sure how much Tylose to add to the gumpaste mix. All the recipes I’ve found that use Tylose are for making gumpaste from scratch (no mix) so I’m not sure of the proportions. Help, please! (and thanks in advance – Sharon)
thanks will give it a try.
I have recently made small childrens shoes to go on my niece’s christening cake. I would like them both to be able to keep them as a memento. Is there a way to ensure that they survive being kept a long while in small memnto boxes. I was thinking of varnishing them ( if so what varnish can be used) this would ensure they are not damaged by moisture. is this viable or does anybody have any other ideas. It would be nice if my nieces could show their children what was on their christening cakes and as they are only three and one that is a long way off.The shoes are made of fondant icing with gum tragacanth added to it (250g fondant / 1tsp gum trag) all suggestions gratefully recieved.
Hello Helen…….You can use any spray laquer that is available at most craft stores as well as any store that carries paint and supplies. I use a clear spray laquer that is in a spray can…..turn the item over and spray the bottom first and let that dray for 24 hrs the turn upright and spray the entire piece. This does help to preserve the piece however please be aware that if the piece becomes exposed to warm temperaures or very high humidity it can get soft and begin to droop. I always have my air conditioning on in the summer so my pieces that I have preserved are just fine. I wish you the best!!
hi…in the philippines we have this thing called gum mix by peotraco…i don’t know what type of gum it is though..could i use this in making gum paste flowers??thanks!
Hi Maria…..to be honest I am not familiar with that product so I cannot say for sure if It will work for you but if I were you I would just go ahead and do a trial run with it to see if it will work or not.
Hello.
I was surfing the net to find the solution to a problem and came across your website. Thank you for all your inputs, you are very kind.
I need you help on the problem that I am facing in making the gumpaste. The original recipe has Tylose, however i have to use CMC as tylose is not available in India. My gumpaste is crumbling on usage and I can see cracks developing when the object dries up. The proportion I have used is 825 gm sugar to 35 gm cmc. Are you able to help here. Am I using a wrong proprtion. Is there a ratio from converting tylose to cmc.
Appreciate all your help.
Best regards,
Soneeka
Hi, I just started making a fondant and were I stay tylose are not available to ship. is it ok to use gum tex as a replacement to create a Figurine?
Hello Rosalie…..Yes, you can use Gum-Tex as a replacement in your fondant. Good Luck to you!!
Thank your for the post, very helpful for someone like me who’s just starting.
hi,
came across ur blog recently and i must say u r doing a great work.ur descriptions are very good.thank you.
can u guide me as to where in singapore i can get CMC powder?
thanks in advance.
http://www.sugarshack.co.uk is a place that many of my cake friends around the world purchase not only CMC powder but many other cake products as well…they ship world wide and have pretty good postal rates. I hope this helps my friend!!
I need to stick already made sugar bees to a beehive cake. Do you have reccomendations on what I could use?
We do not have much selection where I live.
Thanks
Ciara
Hello Ciara
I would just use a little water on the sugar bees and then stick them to your cake, I hope my answer is what you were looking for now if you were wanting to make them appear as though they are flying, then you could put your bees on wires to put on your cake, now I do not put wires directly into my cakes I put drinking straws down into the cake and place the wires into the drinking straws.
Hi, I’ve had a couple of attempts at adding gum tragacanth to white sugar paste and I have found that it only starts to feel like flower paste once I add some colour (gel). Should I be adding a small amount of liquid to the sugar paste to activate the the gum tragacanth? Thank you
Roz it is never a good idea to add liquid to your sugarpaste……it takes a few hrs for the gum trag to activate in your sugarpaste so this sounds like what is going on for you.
Hi – I am a completely new to baking and cake decorating person who is going into this pretty much blind – only being led by helpful people such as yourselves!.. So far so good – I have made some extremely yummy cupcakes and this week have covered my first cake in fondant icing!
If I want to make figurines from fondant icing – do I need to use this gummy stuff you all speak about!?.. sorry to be vague but I really dont know and would have just tried to make the figurines without using any!…
Any advice or tips you can give me will be most welcome as I am really keen to make a good go of this, as so far I seem to be ok!
I am looking for a good moist cake recipe. I have been using Betty Crocker but something has happenedand it does not work for me anymore. I need a good white cake batter from scratch.
I use the Betty Crocker SuperMoist white cake mix. Mix according to the package directions (no yolks) and add 8 oz of sour cream to it. It makes a good, moist, delicious, perfectly white cake that holds up nicely.
I made premade 1 inch strips out of gumpaste to put on a drum cake and now I have to attach them to the fondant cake. Can I use Cai Tylose Powder as a “glue”? How much of it?
Tylose is added to fondant to make it dry quicker or turn fondant into a quick form of gumpaste….to paste your fondant strips on the cake just
plain water it will work just fine…….
This was one of the first places I found that had information on ALL the different “gums”. Thanks so much!
I was wondering if you had any tips for problems with my gumpaste not getting smooth before setting? Once I add a color and begin to roll it into a ball or shape it is very hard for me to get a smooth outside and I end up with cracks once it dries. I’ve read to roll it on cornstarch and use light shortening (or crisco) on your hands to keep it from sticking and I’m wondering if the combination of all of it is affecting the texture of the paste. I was hoping maybe using tylose powder would help make it stick together better. Thanks for ANY help
Your very welcome my friend!
Yes….First off Gumpaste usually dries on the outside and then as it dries inside it causes the cracks to form and I myself have dealt with this quite a bit. One thing that may help you quite a bit is to stop using the cornstarch it makes fondant and gumpaste dry out even worse thus causing more cracks….
Adding tylose powder to your gumpaste will not cause the issues you are having to stop, it will more than likely make things worse. I use tylose to add to my fondant to create a quick form of gumpaste, and it also helps when you live in an area that has high humidity too.
So to deal with your situation try just using shortening (I use the stores brand) to put on your work surface to roll out your gumpaste if need be, just use a small amt because using too much can cause the gumpaste to begin to seperate when trying to roll different shapes.
I hope this helps you and if you have any other issues feel free to email me!!
Thank you for the information, as a novice “caker” I really appreciate this
2nd try Like your web site very much. My ? is there a way one can reconstitute hardened fondant. Thank You. Ruth
Yes….try putting into the microwave for a few seconds at a time until it is softer, then add a bit of shortening to get a nice consisitency again.
Hey There. I live in a place where Tylose is not available anywhere that I can find for purchase. I am wondering if it will kind of work the same if I add gum tex to my fondant?
Thanks!
Yes the gumtex should work for you……good luck my firend!
Hello!
This is an awesome website!
i’m new to baking but i love making little figurines with fondant and gumpaste. The only problem is, buttercream ruins them all the time! the moisture in the buttercream causes the figurines to wilt and doesn’t hold shape.
Do you have any suggestions on how to solve this issue? will adding Tylose to the gumpaste help hold the figurines in shape?
THANK YOU!!
First off thanks so much for your sweet comment!
Tylose powder is a gum ingredient…gumpaste already has gum ingredients in it, so you will not really get much more of a benefit from adding this to the gumpaste.
Now you can add Tylose powder to the fondant and that will add strength to it and help it to keep from wilting and will hold it shape much better.
To help your figurines when placing on a cake with buttercream use a small cake board to sit your figuines on so they do not come in contact with the buttercream,
you can also place a small piece of wax paper under the bottom of your figurines as well to help protect them, and thing I do is wait to the very last minute to place
fondant/gumpaste made pieces on a buttercream iced cake so that I don’t have to deal with the softening/wilting issues.
I hope this helps to answer your question
I wish you the best with your baking and such!!
Thank you! those are great suggestions! I’ll let you know how they turn out!!
Hi, How many hours ahead do you think will be safe to add the gumpaste decorations? I am making a cupcake tower with gumpaste hydrangea petals on most of the cupcakes. The petals are small and thin and I’m not sure about putting wax paper under each one. I already did a trial run and all of the petals melted on top of the buttercream, but I didn’t notice how long it took.
thanks!
Thanks for the explanation. Will adding gum tex or gum trag help to harden the flowers or figurines that I made from fondant? I’m using MM fondant to make flowers but realise that even after a few days, the flowers will not be hardened. It will just be firm.
Flowers made from MM fondant and gum trag will not ever get very hard for you due to the type of fondant….it is best to use a regular fondant with gum trag added to achieve the best results…..
Better yet using a gumpaste is the absolute best thing to use for making flowers
Hi, I use MM fondant all the time. I just don’t add any water to the recipe and make sure to add enough tylose. I’m only making flowers right now and find with MM fondant, I have more time to work it than any of the other recipies I have tried. They dry hard within 1 to 2 days.
Pam thanks sooo much for sharing what you do with the MM Fondant I know that this info with be of great help to many out there in the world of sugar crafting!!
All my best!
Donna
When doing a tall cake in fondant, would gum-tex or any other ingredient make the fondant be more durable — when gravity is working against you?
I really dont think that adding another ingredient to the fondant will help with the gravity issue, sorry!!!
can cmc be used to make sugar paste?
yes it can
hi! i like the website and all the stuff about gums.. i just wanna ask you, what is the best gum for you? and please… can i get a recipe of your gum paste for sugar flowers. thanks! so much!
I want to make a edible glue that is safe for birds, so I can use the glue to appply birdseeds to objects to make as birdfeeders. Can I make bird safe glue that will attach the birdseeds to wood or pine cones to make birdfeeders that is safe for birs and can be used outside with CMC Powder? Please
advise
use peanut butter or other nut butters
When dealing with birds, it is best to stick with well known ingreidents. Peanut Butter is totally safe. Once the seeds are gone, just add more.
i like the website.i really would want to make a modelling of diffrente character but i seems to be missing the recipe. can u help me out.
Hi! I’m from Puerto Rico, i like to make cakes. I want to ask if you have any recipe for make “ice cubes” for a cake.
I saw your photos and are great. thanks for your help.
I am not aware of any at this time…sorry!
You can use Isomalt to make the ice cubes.
what is the thermal gum?
I have never heard of a thermal gun to be honest!