with a flour sifter. Someone told me it could help to give bc creamier texture as it would help with clumps. Does anyone do this or is it a waste of time?

Gosh - I always have and always will. I thought everyone did......Once you sift and see what you "catch" you will never just dump. I sift cocoa powder, flour, merg powder, sometimes even gran sugar!

Well I am far from an expert on this topic but if you saw my other post about "can I salvage my frosting," I discovered the hard way that some recipes downright require sifting it. The unsifted (I didn't pay attention to the recipe) powdered sugar in my fudge frosting was so clumpy it was inedible, even after trying to strain it.

I can't imagine it WOULDN'T be creamier for a standard BC.

YES, Absolutely!

The icing seems creamier because when you sift the icing sugar, the result is a less 'grainy' texture for the icing.
And you appreciate the result when you are trying to pipe with a number 1 or 2 tip; the icing flows beautifully and never blocks!
ciao

Oh yes. All the time!!

You have to sift. I skipped the step once and it was a big mistake. The little clumps of powdered sugar kept clogging my tips, I wanted to scream. That was the one and only time.

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS!!! When I know I'm going to need 10x sugar for lots of icing or just when my canister gets empty, I just go ahead and sift a 7 pound bag so then I'm done with it when I'm ready to go on with the recipe.

ALWAYS SIFT ----- PAT

Yes on that one, too! I use (as I'm thinking other people do, too) a strainer to sift. It makes it a much easier job to strain a few pounds of powdered sugar.

Yes I have two storage buckets for my powder sugar one is a bit smaller I buy the 25lb. bag and sift sugar the weeks with no cake orders and cupple icing bags and do what ever pep work I can so when I do get and order I can go to the sifted bucket and make good buttercream and enjoy the cake experiance so much better.

me too. I discovered that my frosting is so much smoother now that I sift everything. I bought an inexpensive small hand crank sifter and it works great. It really doesn't take much time to sift. It can be messy though. I just put a large bowl in the middle of my sink and put the sifter a little bit into the bowl and sift away. It really does make a difference.

I always sift my sugar twice (at least)

Thanks for responding everyone! That is a lot of votes for YES!

I get my kids to do it, they love doing it and feel like they are involved at the early stages of making the cake.

I've never sifted my Powdered Sugar. Never had a problem with my BC icing either. C & H is the only Pure Cane Sugar in this area so that's all I buy.

I never have sifted my confectionary sugar for buttercream but always for royal. I find it SO time consuming to sift that sugar with my little tupperware sifter that holds very little confectionary sugar.

Does anyone have any tips for sifting confectionary sugar? Someone mentioned a strainer? Any particular type of strainer? Aren't the holes to big?

i saw on Good Eats once that he taped a plastic cup with the bottom cut out to the bottom of a sifter and sifted it directly into the bowl as it was mixing... it wasnt messy at all..

I never sift either and have never had problems with lumps in any of my icings. When I buy my bags of sugar, I squeeze the bag all over to make sure that there are no holes--making sure no moisture has gotten in.

Ooh good tip, I think I'll try that.

In order to keep the frosting from clogging tips, you'll want to always sift the sugar to make sure there are no lumps. The proof is in the bottom of the sifter, there's always lumps in the end...

I buy my powdered sugar in 25lb bags and I sift a cannister of it at a time. Only takes a few minutes and I have a whole cannister of it ready to go.

I don't find it neccesary to sift the 2lb bags, but the 25lb ones really need it and it's much cheaper to buy in a larger bag.

To follow up on a few prior replys, what type of sifter do most people recommend? My frustration is always in cleaning - what do you find is the best method for cleaning a sifter?

(and I sometimes sift and sometimes do not - depends on the powdered sugar and how perfect I want the final product vs time I have)

I have a cheapy little metal one with a crank handle I just submerge it in hot soapy water, swish it around and then rinse with hot water.

hi guys,

i buy icing sugar in a 100lb bag. when i first open it, it is fine. i dont have to sift it. but as it sits it gets clupmy. what i do then is throw some in my trust black and decker food processor, let it proscess for a bit then sift it. that makes sifting a breeezzzzzeeee. hope someone else tries that. its also a time saver.

One of my past instructors said sifting was not necessary if we purchase ps in plastic bags--if we could feel that the sugar is "fluffy", we could go ahead and use it. I purchase #10 ps in Sams 7# plastic bags and never have a problem. BUT, if I haven't used sugar from the bag for a while, I do sift with a regular strainer/sifter. Just insurance.

I never used to sift until just finishing course 1. I was surprised to see how many hard balls of PS in the bottom of my hand cranking sifter. They're so hard I have to push them through with my fingers. Could be that we get our groceries shipped to us and no telling how long it sits there etc. I am now sifting like crazy. I also sift my cake mixes and always have. They're even lumpier than the PS!!

Who washes sifters???? Mine would magically turn to rust as I washed it. It's old and dedicated to 10x sugar. I just knock out the little lumps into the sink, tap it a few times, and put it away in its appointed place. Pat

My Grandma uses her mom's sifter. So its very old. I just called and asked her and she said she never washes it either because of rusting... she shakes it out really good and uses a paper towel to wipe or push through anything thats left.

I guess it depends on the sugar.

The sugar I buy is always fluffy and not lumpy, so I empty it out into a bowl and stir it around with my egg whisk. That works just fine for me.

However, I just bought some sugar the other day, and for some reason, this batch was lumpy and would require sifting.

When my mom's flour sifter would get beyond the normal dirty she would wash it and then put it in the oven (on low) to dry. She said that kept it from rusting.

I sometimes sift and sometimes not. Depends on what I am doing with it. For the smaller tips it does really help. Is very frustrating to be in the middle of writing and a lump appear in the frosting!

Diane

I have never sifted and never had problems. But, I've only ever used the 2lbs. plastic bags that were fluffy. Although, I have been debating buying the larger bags so that I can save money by buying bulk. So, it's good I read this post!