Now I heard Ron Beth Israel say he uses gum tragacanth with satin ice to make his flowers. I know here most of us use tylose. Is there a difference or is it just a preference?

I think its a personal preference. Because I use CMC.

Tylose & cmc are the same thing--tylose is just the brand name.

Gum trag requires a 24 hr. wait time in order to be "activated"--AND it's $$$$$ compared to tylose. Doesn't seem worth the wait or the $, IMHO.

HTH
Rae

I prefer to use Tylose over gum trag mostly because gum trag can give an off yellow tint to the gumpaste. I do like to use gum trag for pastillage. It makes really strong pieces.

JMO

Michele

Like previously posted gum trag is more expensive, and hard to find too, in some areas. I know we have internet and you can find everything, but.....not always do I have time for the stuff to get to me. I use Tylose, it's easier to find and less expensive and it works fine, just my opinion.

Vic

Does anyone have measurements on adding either one to fondant to make a suitable gumpaste - I like the idea of adding it to fondant....faster and not as messy as making gumpaste from scratch....I stopped buying it and started making my own, but I don't always have time to whip up a batch if I run out in the middle of something.

I find that if I add 1/2 tsp of tylose to Wilton fondant I get a great result. With softer fondants like Satin Ice or FondX, 1 level tsp makes a nice gum paste.

I don't make my own fondant and I have seen varying reports about how much to add to MMF or MFF, so I'd say start with less and then add in small amounts until you get a ratio that you like.

Rae

Tylose is a powder, right? How would you get that in your MMF? It says knead it in and let it rest overnight... I thought it would harden by then. How long does it take to harden? The more Tylose, the faster the harding time?

Sorry if I'm bombarding you with questions, I'm just one of those that researches a lot before doing... probably paranoid.

Thanks!

You knead the tylose powder into the fondant and wrap the fondant very well in saran wrap and then place it in a zip loc bag with all of the air pressed out of it.

Without air, it will stiffen up, but not dry.

You have to keep it well wrapped at all times, until you want it to dry.

Too much tylose and the fondant gets too stiff. It's hard to get the cracks out when forming it.

It's always better to start with a little and then add some as you go along until you like the consistency of the product you need.

Rae

Thanks, Rae! How much fondant are you thinking of?

Sorry Rae if I was confusing. What I meant was... 1/2 tsp Tylos to how much Wilton fondant?

Sorry, I was referencing 1 lb. of fondant in each instance.

Rae

Thanks, I'll give it a try.

I just came across your discussion tylose vs tragacanth. Tylose is not a brandname for gum tragacanth. Tylose is an artificial/synthetic product whereas gum tragacanth is natural. It is the dried gum of a tree/bush that grows in Turkey, Iran etc. Because it is a natural product, it is more difficult to come by and more expensive. Both work roughly the same. Best is to dissolve the gum in water, a day before you need it. Hope this information helps. Good luck trying which one you like best.

Welcome to CC.

No one said that Tylose was the brand name for gum trag. Previous posts in the thread explain the differences between the 2.

Tylose and cmc are interchangeable, with Tylose being a brand name.

Rae

Sorry for dragging up an old thread but does anyone know how much Gum Tragacanth to add to approx 250g of fondant?

I couldn't get tylose powder at the shop

Thanks
Pamela