Made some Antonia's RI on Tuesday afternoon, it is now Thursday morn, can i still use it for some cookies today? It has just been stored in a bowl covered in cling wrap.

Also if you leave RI in piping bags overnight can you still pipe with it the next day or isn't that a good idea?

You can use it but you'll need to stir it really well with a spatula to bring it back to a good consistency. If it's already bagged, just massage the bag really well and pipe out/discard the 'settled' royal icing that is in the tip and coupler.

awesome thanks so much for the reply

Elise - I know you are all set, but I wanted to throw out there for you that Antonia74's RI actually lasts for quite some time stored in a cool, dry place. I just give mine a stir and am good to go. As for the pastry bags, I find that mine separates a bit as I tend to go heavy on the gel coloring, but I just take it out, give it a stir and am good to go as well. Helen (Antonia74) says that the RI is good until it smells "off". That is not her exact quote , but you get the idea.

I agree. I've kept RI for quite a bit of time and it was still good. I store RI in the fridge and find that it stays fresh tasting and separates less.
In the bag, you have to massage and then squeeze some out till you see the consistency you want. I've kept bags in the fridge in ziplocs also for quite some time and just a little kneading was necessary to be good to go.

just wondering how long is "quite some time"? Ive got some left over, and i tried freezing it once and it got kinda runny?

now i will refridgerate it... so to date it... how long should I put? (it was made yesterday)

Let's see. I think the longest i've had RI sitting in the fridge was probably about a month (it wasn't thinned out or colored if that makes a diff).

ok!! oh well there is no harm in trying! I will try to find out!

thank-u! that's all good to know for the future Luckily enough when i used the RI left in my piping bags it hadn't seperated or anything so i could just use as is!

If it was made with meringue powder, you can store it in a Ziploc bag (with the excess air pushed out of it) or in a very clean Tupperware container (press plastic wrap right against the surface of the icing inside to prevent it from crusting.) These can be stored for long term (say, 6+ months?) in the fridge/freezer (though it's not my favourite solution for brightly-coloured/dark icings, I find they don't regain their consistency perfectly IMHO, BUT they can also stay out at cool room temp (in shade, not stored in direct sunlight/heat) for 4-6 weeks, no problem. There's no worry about mold, it contains nothing in it that is actually perishable.

You'll see that it will separate into three layers of liquid/solids/foam after a while....but it just needs re-whipping to use it again. If you think you haven't stored it well or for too long, just give it a sniff before you use it. If it smells slightly alcoholic, just throw it out. It's not so costly that you should ever risk using it if you think it's gone off. Just throw it out!


If it was made with egg whites, it needs to go into your fridge or freezer. Same thing though, it will need to be re-whipped before using it again.

thanks antonia