I am sure this has been answered somewhere before but I have a hard time searching for things on here..

How do you make Buttercream STIFF?
Buttercream MEDIUM?
Buttercream THIN?

and why do you make them different levels (what levels are used to make different things if that makes sense?)

Sorry trying to figure all this out.

Thank you in advance!

add more milk/water to get it thinner. Wilton suggests adding light corn syrup to their normal recipe to get spreading constistency. I have never tried that though, just more milk. So add less liquid to make it stiffer. I use a medium for just about everything-if its too stiff your hand will hurt while piping and cake will tear while spreading.

Why do you have different levels? What does stiff do compared to medium?

You would need a stiffer consistency to make flowers and decorations and a thinner consistency for spreading on the cake. If you try to cover a cake with stiff consistency you would tear the cake up. If you try to make roses with thin consistency your roses would not hold their shape.

In the cake decorating forum there is a blue folder at the very top. Titled something like Everything you need to know about Buttercream.

here is the link. Read, enjoy, and find all the answers to questions you didnt even think to ask about buttercream

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-1353.html

the best way to search on here is to google your quesition and add cake central to it. example: buttercream consistancy cake central

HTH's

You only need to adjust the thickness of buttercream/icing if you are using a powdered sugar based frosting. Italian Meringue and Swiss Meringue buttercreams do not require adjustment. They come out perfect for all applications from the get go.