Help!!! Isomalt Is Soooooo Sticky!!

Sugar Work By Christy0722 Updated 8 Apr 2011 , 1:58pm by Sugar_Art_Cakery

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Christy0722 Posted 24 Mar 2011 , 4:41am
post #1 of 12

Leave it to me to pick the ONE night this week that we have severe thunderstorms to play with Isomalt for the first time!!

I was making coral for a cake for this weekend and i have to admit, it came out beautifully!! However, it is sooooo sticky I can't even pick it up without leaving fingerprints all over it!! icon_cry.gif

How long will it take to dry?? I need to wrap it and take it with me to place on my cake. I have to travel a couple of hours and don't want to risk it breaking on the way.

Any suggestions???? Thanks!!!!!

11 replies
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steffla Posted 24 Mar 2011 , 4:56am
post #2 of 12

What method did you use to make coral? Did you pour it over ice? In my experience when it came out sticky like tha it would also shrink as it dried and we ended up with about half the volume of coral as we started with. Just a heads up! Good luck!

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Christy0722 Posted 24 Mar 2011 , 5:08am
post #3 of 12

I used the Isomalt crystals and poured it over ice. How long does it take for it to dry?? I don't mind if it shrinks some...i actually ended up with a little more than I needed.
Thanks for the heads up!!

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steffla Posted 24 Mar 2011 , 5:15am
post #4 of 12

I truthfully don't remember exactly how long it took to be fully dry but my instinct is to say overnight?

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Christy0722 Posted 24 Mar 2011 , 5:40am
post #5 of 12

Thank you soooo much!!! I don't need them until saturday morning so I'm hoping they will be completely dry by then.

Thanks again for your help!!!!!!!

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steffla Posted 24 Mar 2011 , 5:49am
post #6 of 12

Sure! Let me know how it goes in terms of shrinkage. Best of luck!

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Christy0722 Posted 24 Mar 2011 , 12:10pm
post #7 of 12

OK.....I checked my coral this morning and it is still sticky!! Not quite as much as last night, but still too sticky to handle!! icon_cry.gificon_mad.gificon_cry.gif

Is there anything that I can do to help absorb some of the moisture out of it??????

HELP!!!!!!!! icon_cry.gificon_cry.gif

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Sugar_Art_Cakery Posted 31 Mar 2011 , 5:20pm
post #8 of 12

It typically takes a couple days for the isomalt coral to dry when you use the ice method.

If it isn't dry within a day or three, a good method that helps is to put it in an air-tight container and toss in a couple packets of desiccant to suck all the moisture out.

If you don't know what desiccant is, it's the little packages of silica gel that you find in shoe boxes when you bring them home from the store. You can also find them in boxes that electronics come in.

I've used these to keep pulled sugar decorations nice and dry and it works with isomalt too icon_smile.gif Hope this helps!

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Linda2010 Posted 8 Apr 2011 , 4:39am
post #9 of 12

To make the corals, do you pour the isomalt over ice cubes or a sheet of ice?
Thank you in advance for your response

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tesso Posted 8 Apr 2011 , 6:06am
post #10 of 12

what temp did you bring your isomalt to? I prefer a hard crack stage, it tends to dry faster and travels well.

and to answer anothers post as well, you pour the isomalt over crushed ice.

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Christy0722 Posted 8 Apr 2011 , 1:05pm
post #11 of 12

Sorry I didn't post my results.

I poured mine over ice cubes and crushed ice...pour very slowly though....I made the mistake the first time by pouring too fast. I ended up with a big blob. icon_cry.gif

The 3rd morning all of my coral was still tacky but I put it on a cooling rack and placed it inside a box. I also threw in a couple of the silica gel packets as someone had suggested. They were completely dry about 8 hours later! Worked like a charm!! Thanks CakeCop41!! thumbs_up.gificon_biggrin.gif

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Sugar_Art_Cakery Posted 8 Apr 2011 , 1:58pm
post #12 of 12

Your very welcome, Christy0722 icon_biggrin.gif Glad it worked out for you!

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