Officially Disappointed With 'the Mat'.

Decorating By MrsNancyB1 Updated 24 Feb 2018 , 6:15pm by jchuck

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KathysCC Posted 24 Oct 2010 , 2:42pm
post #31 of 135
Quote:
Originally Posted by BlakesCakes


NO, IT'S NOT THE EXACT SAME THING..................The Sweetwise people have gone to great lengths to develop a product using food safe materials. They had cheap vinyl analyzed and then made sure that the materials used in their product would be safe for use with food.
Rae




Then why is there no information on her site about this.

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LindaF144a Posted 24 Oct 2010 , 3:10pm
post #32 of 135
Quote:
Originally Posted by KathysCC

You can buy the big sheets of plastic at Walmart or a fabric store and save a lot of money. It is the same thing. People have been using those sheets for years to roll out fondant. It is nothing new.




NO, it isn't. The Mat is food safe, the Wallie world one is not. And I have both The Mat and the plastic sheets you mention. It feels different and it SMELLS different, definitely way less chemically smelling. I am amazed that people can trust that stuff after all the news about all the other non food stuff China is sneaking into the food products they make. I wouldn't trust it just for that reason alone.

And I have said before, would I pay a few extra dollars to support a US company manufacturing something totally made from US products? A definite big YES!!!

I used The Mat to make my latest and first wedding cake shown in my phoots. It was my first wedding cake, so I was very stressed about making it. The Mat worked like a charm. I must have rolled out the fondant at least 6 times. One for the board, one to experiment on how much I needed for the bottom layer and twice for the top. It worked so well that I rolled it just a little too thin. It stretched too much and I had to reroll and recover. I just loved the panic look my DH would get the first couple of time I just picked up The Mat with the fondant sticking to it and held it up to put on the cake. The first time I thought he was going to have a heart attack on the spot.

And less shortening is best, just like the OP said.

I'm sold on it and I am even thinking of buying another just to use as a cover for my counter. I fear that wiping down the granite all the time is wearing away the sealant and I want to protect it with food safe products.

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BlakesCakes Posted 24 Oct 2010 , 6:12pm
post #33 of 135
Quote:
Originally Posted by KathysCC

Quote:
Originally Posted by BlakesCakes


NO, IT'S NOT THE EXACT SAME THING..................The Sweetwise people have gone to great lengths to develop a product using food safe materials. They had cheap vinyl analyzed and then made sure that the materials used in their product would be safe for use with food.
Rae



Then why is there no information on her site about this.




I have no idea why you are so hot to know exactly how they made it and what it's made out of to make it food safe. I'm pretty sure you've posted this same "argument" in other posts about The Mat...................

Sweetwise really has gone out of their way (in other posts) to explain what they did and why they did it--without giving away proprietary secrets.

They'd have to be pretty dumb to explain, in a public forum, EXACTLY what they did. It surely cost them $$$$$$$$$$$ for the development, analysis, and production of the product. They did have to buy 5000 UNITS of the stuff for the first order in order to make the product cost effective. Sheesh, what more do you want????????????

If you're that concerned about being "scammed" into buying a .50 piece of WalMart vinyl being passed off as a food safe, just don't buy it, but to continue to question their integrity because they won't spill their guts to molify a few doubters is just wrong.

MHO
Rae

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Scarlets-Cakes Posted 24 Oct 2010 , 6:40pm
post #34 of 135

Good gravy, people, it's $15. Just order it and know that you're food safe. Done and done.

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walterak Posted 24 Oct 2010 , 6:52pm
post #35 of 135

I only read the first page, but I have to give my feedback also.

This week, I was ready to THROW MINE IN THE TRASH. It is a magnet for every piece of anything flying in the air. I seasoned mine the first time and LOVED IT. Went to use it the second time and it wouldnt roll the fondant...wouldnt budge at all. So I washed it REALLY GOOD and put shortening on it AGAIN. It worked good THAT TIME. It seems I HAVE TO use shortening on it ALL THE TIME or it doesnt do crap. The fondant also does not want to come off like the first poster also mentioned. Several times now I just opted to go the old way of rolling my fondant because this was so disappointing. It also doesnt store well for me, It wont unroll well for me and it has ripples all in it, no matter how I try and roll it. I just have a serious issue with it being a magnet for lint and hair. I feel like I have to be in a clean room to use it. If I could go back in time, I wouldn't order it. Also, nothing personal. I agree with the first poster 100%. Even my husband who is STRONG had trouble rolling it out. The only thing I like is there is no mess of pwd sugar or corn starch.

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Suzisweet Posted 25 Oct 2010 , 2:05am
post #36 of 135

Good evening all!
Just back from a long day out and I have seen this is still going back and forth so I will add a final word towards the difference.............
you can "clearly" see that The Mat has a blueish tint and I agree that it with earlier poster about the smell as it actually smells "clean" to me. I am trusting that Sweetwise has done their homework and they are selling a valuable product to those that want to know that they are using a food safe mat. I too, also love the fact that I am supporting an American company.

For all of the users out there having problems; I am sorry to hear that. I wish I had the answer as to what is different between the people loving it and those that don't. Maybe the type of fondant??? Not really sure about that but so far I have used Fondarific, Duff, Satin Ice, homemade gumpaste and mixtures of the above. All with equal success. Good Luck to all, hope you can work out the kinks.

To close, I will say again, that I just love The Mat!

PS I also bought the mini mat for making flowers petals and such and keeping them from drying out.

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3GCakes Posted 25 Oct 2010 , 2:11am
post #37 of 135

I have a question:

You know the flap on the Wilton practice boards? Or even the Wilton Practice boards itself? Is that vinyl? Is it food safe?

I'm asking because it never occured to me. WHen I Google "Food Safe Vinyl"....I can't find anywhere that claims they make "food safe vinyl".

It's perplexing.

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LindaF144a Posted 25 Oct 2010 , 2:13am
post #38 of 135
Quote:
Originally Posted by Suzisweet

Good evening all!
Just back from a long day out and I have seen this is still going back and forth so I will add a final word towards the difference.............
you can "clearly" see that The Mat has a blueish tint and I agree that it with earlier poster about the smell as it actually smells "clean" to me. I am trusting that Sweetwise has done their homework and they are selling a valuable product to those that want to know that they are using a food safe mat. I too, also love the fact that I am supporting an American company.

For all of the users out there having problems; I am sorry to hear that. I wish I had the answer as to what is different between the people loving it and those that don't. Maybe the type of fondant??? Not really sure about that but so far I have used Fondarific, Duff, Satin Ice, homemade gumpaste and mixtures of the above. All with equal success. Good Luck to all, hope you can work out the kinks.

To close, I will say again, that I just love The Mat!

PS I also bought the mini mat for making flowers petals and such and keeping them from drying out.


Mini mat? I don't see this on website. Where can i get this?

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BlakesCakes Posted 25 Oct 2010 , 2:16am
post #39 of 135

I guess you'd need to check with Wilton on that.

They do market it for use with items that "can" be eaten.............

I'm guessing that "food safe vinyl" is actually called something else in the industry. I googled it, too, and found nothing.

Perhaps SweetWise really broke ground in developing this, or else they found a similar product (having had regular vinyl analyzed) and simply market it as "food safe vinyl" because that's what it looks like, acts like, and feels like.

Rae

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3GCakes Posted 25 Oct 2010 , 2:32am
post #40 of 135

I would hope "The Mat" is a new way of making vinyl that is food safe.

I recently threw out a bunch of vintage Tupperware cups and Kool-Aid (vintage) cups that my kids loved, but I knew they were breaking down and becoming toxic.

Normally, I roll out everything on butcher paper, but I'd love to have something easily cleanable and not so wasteful. And butcher paper gets expensive!

Not only that....I teach an after school class with around 22 kids (average) and I need something to keep the powdered sugar dust down and the toxin level minimal as well.

I am definitely considering "the mat"....wondering if I can cut it into pieces to accomodate my entire class.

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Suzisweet Posted 25 Oct 2010 , 2:47am
post #42 of 135
Quote:
Originally Posted by 3GCakes

I am definitely considering "the mat"....wondering if I can cut it into pieces to accomodate my entire class.




Yes it can definately be cut....you may ask them about buying a quantity of "mini mats"

They (as far as I know) are going to start selling the "mini" mat. They did sell me one as I believe there was something about the mini in a video or something that I read and I specifically asked to buy one. I do love the idea of this because I can cut out items and leave them under it so they do not dry out (just like the Wilton practice board but better)...you can also make quick rose petals by placing balls of gumpaste and pushing and spreading them out thin to the edges with your thumb or fingers (hope that makes sense)

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Bluehue Posted 25 Oct 2010 , 3:39am
post #43 of 135

@ Suzisweet - (blue waves hello)

Suzi - any chance you could post the measurements of the smaller mat for me please..
I am thinking this would be very handy for me... thanks petal.
Umm, and a link to the video again - i have seen it on another thread - but irrkkk can't find it icon_rolleyes.gif

I remember hearing and watching her say you don't roll straight persae but off to the side - that i do already and it surely makes a difference, for getting your [i]medium [/i]round - its quicker also.

Thankyou... icon_smile.gif

Bluehue.

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BluntlySpeakingKarma Posted 25 Oct 2010 , 4:18am
post #44 of 135

When you roll on shortening, the fondant tends to "hydroplane" along on top of the surface and settle back down in areas, trapping air. When it's "sealed" to a surface (without sticking), it doesn't float and lift and let anything under it. It's like tires on a wet road basically.

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madgeowens Posted 25 Oct 2010 , 5:03am
post #45 of 135

Yeah I had my fondant "sealed" to the surface.......but then I couldnt get it off lol..............I think no matter what you use, something can always go wrong..........too much moisture in the air....a bad batch of fondant...whatever....we all have these things at one time or other....icon_smile.gif

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Suzisweet Posted 25 Oct 2010 , 12:34pm
post #46 of 135
Quote:
Originally Posted by KarmaCakes10

When you roll on shortening, the fondant tends to "hydroplane" along on top of the surface and settle back down in areas, trapping air. When it's "sealed" to a surface (without sticking), it doesn't float and lift and let anything under it. It's like tires on a wet road basically.




GREAT ANALOGY!

I will do my best to get to the kitchen I work out of today and get some measurements on the "mini" if I can not get info direct from Sweetwise.

As for the "sealing" of the fondant to the mat...you actually want this to occur but as I believe a poster had mentioned before; be careful not to go too thin as this can cause problems especially with getting it off of the mat in one piece....never measured how thick or thin I roll mine I just run my hand over it and can feel when I think it is right. Anyone having problems peeling it back off of the mat try rolling a little thicker and see if that helps.

Here is one of the videos................




They do tell you to use a different rolling technique and I think it works rather well. I also mentioned before that the surface actually let my (wooden) pin "glide" across rather then rolling. Kind of just happened by accident but once it did I did alot of the work just like that. It was quick and somewhat effortless! Mind you, this is a vintage pin possibly antique. I use it because it is so heavy.
HTH

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Bubbl3h3ad Posted 25 Oct 2010 , 1:03pm
post #47 of 135
Quote:
Originally Posted by Suzisweet



Maybe the type of fondant??? Not really sure about that but so far I have used Fondarific, Duff, , homemade gumpaste and mixtures of the above. All with equal success.




Suzisweet, have you used MMF on it? I was wondering if maybe the other ones work but the MMF doesn't for some reason. That might be a stupid question but I wouldn't know because I only use homemade MMF and that is because that's the one I can afford, lol. But I was thinking about getting The Mat so what do you think??

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Suzisweet Posted 25 Oct 2010 , 1:20pm
post #48 of 135
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bubbl3h3ad

Quote:
Originally Posted by Suzisweet



Maybe the type of fondant??? Not really sure about that but so far I have used Fondarific, Duff, , homemade gumpaste and mixtures of the above. All with equal success.



Suzisweet, have you used MMF on it? I was wondering if maybe the other ones work but the MMF doesn't for some reason. That might be a stupid question but I wouldn't know because I only use homemade MMF and that is because that's the one I can afford, lol. But I was thinking about getting The Mat so what do you think??




Have not used MMF but I am planning on it so that I can experiment and possibly help with issues people are having. I am also teaching some classes at my local middle school. They now have a cake decorating club and I am having the students make MMF to make some decorations with. I want to show them how to cover a cake too and I want to use the same fondant that they will have and be using. I will keep you posted.

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Bubbl3h3ad Posted 25 Oct 2010 , 1:33pm
post #49 of 135

Thank you so much! I am doing a wedding cake soon and it is my first and I'm kinda freaking out about it. I do fondant all the time but I was thinking of using The Mat to take out some of the stress and I don't want to make it MORE stressful! I think I'm just stressing myself out actually, I'm sure it will be fine. Thanks for any input you can give me about it! I greatly appreciate it!

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dellababe Posted 25 Oct 2010 , 1:40pm
post #50 of 135

The mat for me was wonderful!!!! I made my first wedding cake this weekend and the mat worked great for my fondant. The bottom tier of the cake was a 16x16, 4ins high and the big piece of fondant was so easy to pick up and set on the cake with the mat, I will diffidently be using mine again!!

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Bubbl3h3ad Posted 25 Oct 2010 , 1:42pm
post #51 of 135

Dellababe, was it MMF or otherwise?

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luntus Posted 25 Oct 2010 , 2:14pm
post #52 of 135

Bubbl3h3ad, I have the mat and use MMF all the time. I have no problems with the mat. I have washed it a couple of times because of my urge to clean everything and it still works fine. I like the fact that I can move the fondant around until I am happy with the position before I realease it from the mat. IMHO I would rather use that than buy some clear vinly from Walmart which has not been designed as food safe.

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HappyCake10609 Posted 28 Oct 2010 , 6:47pm
post #53 of 135

Alright... I tried the Mat again, like I said I would and I had a bit more success this time, so I thought I should share my experience...

First of all, I use MMF. Usually I kneed in a little less Powdered Sugar and more crisco so it won't dry out as much during the rolling process. This time I increased the amount of PS I used and it did seem to help a bit.

My biggest two problems were air bubbles marking the fondant and sticking/rippling when trying to remove the fondant from the Mat. I think I have solved the air bubble problem. I noticed when the Mat was "catching" at the ends and I pulled it back, most of the air bubbles materialized when I tried to smooth the Mat back down. So after I noticed that, I tried to only pull the mat back to the edge of the fondant, and not off of the fondant and voila, virtually no air bubbles!

My second problem I tried to address, the sticking and rippling upon removal... I actually think I figured this one out by mistake! I was covering a 2 tier cake. When I was covering the 1st cake is when I noticed the air bubble problem/solution, so when I finished rolling I still had some air bubbles to try and get rid of. So I pulled the top Mat off and rubbed a bit of powdered sugar on and rolled it with the rolling pin to get rid of them. But I still had some ripples underneath, so I laid the top Mat back down and flipped it, peeled back the other Mat (lots of sticking and rippling, so I dusted it and rolled it again to fix it. At this point I was happy enough and ready to apply the fondant to my cake, assuming the fondant wasn't adhered to the Mat any longer and I'd have to do it the old fashioned way. Lo and behold, the fondant had stuck to the Mat as I was rolling even with the sugar on it. So I picked it up and laid it down and it released just like in the video!

So... that whole story was to illustrate the trick I think I figured out. When I went to do my second cake, I dusted the bottom piece of the Mat with a little bit of Powdered Sugar (but I forgot to do the other side of the Mat!). It rolled out beautifully, NO air bubbles or rippling... It released very easily from the dusted side of the Mat. However, since I forgot to dust the other side, it did stick pretty badly, and I ended up having to scrape it off and start over. I'm waiting for a new batch of fondant to "rest", but I think next time if I dust both sides of the Mat I will be home free. Not exactly "dustless" but the sugar absorbs into the fondant and there is virtually no mess.

Sorry this was so long, but I hope this helps anyone who was having the same trouble I was...

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icer101 Posted 28 Oct 2010 , 7:36pm
post #54 of 135

I am reading all this because if am thinking about buying it also. Some are happy, some are sad. Some are saying. they are using powder sugar on it to keep it from sticking. I just watched the video that was posted several post up. She is saying , you don,t have to use anything. no powder sugar ,etc. she seasons it once. with shortening, then wipes it off.So what is most doing. Like the video says to do or what you want to do for your convenience. I would like little more help while i am deciding. thank you.

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TerriLynn Posted 28 Oct 2010 , 8:10pm
post #55 of 135
Quote:
Quote:

I will do my best to get to the kitchen I work out of today and get some measurements on the "mini" if I can not get info direct from Sweetwise.





Hey Suzisweet -- I would love to have information on the 'mini' as well. I'm taking a class as Sweetwise in a couple of weeks (so excited!) and definitely want to get these if available. By the way - your cakes are awesome. You are my new hero icon_smile.gif

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LindaF144a Posted 29 Oct 2010 , 1:55am
post #56 of 135

Happycake- my guess is that if the PS worked, then you may have overseasoned your mat and the PS helped to soak up some of the crisco. It also could be your way of making your MMF as you say you make it a special way that worked for you. Now you may have to adjust your recipe.

I used this with Wilton fondant and did not experience the trials you did. I'm sure once you get that MMF recipe down pact, you will become a pro at using this.

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sweettreat101 Posted 29 Oct 2010 , 9:10am
post #57 of 135

I purchased the mat thinking it would be a time saver and don't like it at all. I tried several times and keep getting little air bubbles. I tried wiping the mat to see if I added to much shortening still have the air bubbles. The two pieces never line up almost like they weren't cut correctly. I really want to like the mat but so far for me at least it has been a wait of 25.00. For now it's sitting in the corner. I will give it a try again on a practice cake.

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diamonds-and-rust Posted 29 Oct 2010 , 10:42am
post #58 of 135

Yes, I am also dissapointed with the Mat...same probs that other peeps have had, sticking, pockmarks, etc etc....I am hoping that with time and practice it will get better....if not, does n e one know if there is a way to get our money back? Just kinda feelin a bit ripped off right now...had much better results rollin it old school...

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LindaF144a Posted 29 Oct 2010 , 12:26pm
post #59 of 135
Quote:
Originally Posted by sweettreat101

I purchased the mat thinking it would be a time saver and don't like it at all. I tried several times and keep getting little air bubbles. I tried wiping the mat to see if I added to much shortening still have the air bubbles. The two pieces never line up almost like they weren't cut correctly. I really want to like the mat but so far for me at least it has been a wait of 25.00. For now it's sitting in the corner. I will give it a try again on a practice cake.




I don't see why the Mat has to line up to work. I t is two sheets of plastic put together and theybare large e ough to cover the surface. Mine do not line up exactly either. One is maybe an inch off. Certainly not enough tp hinder its performance.

I would suggest practice and wiping it down even more if you get the pock maeks (I didn't get thst problem).

As for a refund, contact the seller. Putting your statement here will not help you find your answer. Ther are many of us who are very happy with the Mat. But not everything works for everybody. I am sure they would understand that. You will probsvly have to incur the shipping charge, which is standard. But I bet you the owners would prefer ypu deal with that issue directly to them. Just guessing in that one. I do not know them personally.

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diamonds-and-rust Posted 2 Nov 2010 , 7:43pm
post #60 of 135

Damn, SO SORRY for asking a simple question regarding getting a refund on this product **picking head up off of the floor and backing away from the computer**. I was under the assumption that this forum is the appropriate place to ask such questions. I simply was inquiring if anyone else has approached this company regarding getting a refund for this product. It seems to me that other companies are fair game for unending criticism (Wilton, for one), but a few members of CC take every little criticism of the MAT extremely personally....as if the had a vested interest in this company. I did not have a good experience with this product, and I feel that I have right to voice my opinion regarding this matter. And I am not the only poster who has had problems with this product. And Linda, I do not appreciate your dictating to me about what I may and may not post. Have a SUPER day.

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