Hi, all!
Can I use this recipe for pools, water (ocean/beach), aquariums, etc. the same as if I bought Wilton piping gel. Also, someone here at CC suggested using piping gel in buttercream to get nice points on my leaves. Anyone know if this recipe works the same or just as well???

TIA,
bakersofcakes

P.S. How do I store it???

According to the instructions, it LOOKS as if it acts the same as Wilton's gel and it says to store it in the fridge. I've never tried this recipe, but I would store it in an airtight container in the fridge.
~Leslie~

I have tried this recipe alongs with a few others here and we all found it to be quite watery.Wilton gel is more thick.I used it for water on my Dad's 65th Birthday cake and by the next day it had all seeped into the cake even though I had covered the pond in BC first.I probably wouldn't use it again...

Gosh, thanks for the info! Ok, maybe I should just buy Wilton's. How long does theirs keep, anyway?

Otherwise, if I get bored & want to try the recipe anyhow, I wonder if I could use less water &/or corn syrup???

Also...

Where are the other recipes located on CC? I could only find 1 piping gel in the recipes section, so I guess they must have other titles or something.

Thanks for the help!

I have kept wilton gels for at least 3 months.

Thanks, Kiddiekakes!

The container I have now is atleast 6 months old and it is pefectly fine.

i wonder if you can add something to it to make it thicker?

I tried to make my own piping gel twice and failed and threw it out both times. Wilton's piping gel is about $3.00. I found it more worth it to me to buy it and know it is right.

To make it thicker, i'd try adding less corn syrup. The corn syrup seems like it's what stops the geletin from setting completely. I'll experiment with this tomorow.

hi! i submitted that recipe super long ago when i was a CC n00b and did't know how to add my source! i'm so SORRY!!!! i got that from the sugarcraft site but i haven't tried it myself... i live in germany now and piping gel is extremely hard to come by - so i thought this recipe might be the answer, apparently not - i'm really sorry for the trouble

i'll try it out with less syrup - maybe even a full cup less.

p.s.
i can't even find corn syrup here i have to try and make my own. i saw a recipe on the net somewhere so i'll have to try that out

I'm going to experiment tomorow to find a good recipe to use. Don't worry! I'll try everything i can think of. I'll try to find one recipe that uses corn syrup and one that doesn't, if i can.

IF someone could do me a favor? Can someone give me the ingrediant list on the wilton piping gel? Thanks!

Darra, could you please send me the recipe for corn syrup? Ican't get it here either. i usually use honey instead... I'll try homemade piping gel as well since it is also unavalible here.

FerretDeprived, I'm looking forward to your recipes! means a lot to all of non-US members that do not have any cake decorating store nearby...

FerretDeprived,

Here is the ingredient list off the Wilton Piping Gel:

Corn Syrup, Sugar, Water, Modified Food Startch (corn), Agar Gum (Emulsifier), Potassium Sorbate (perservative), Citric Acid, and Sodium Citrate.

Good luck with your experiment, and please post your results on THIS thread since all of us who are interested are already subscribed.

I also live in Europe, usually man say central Europe, but actually ex Balcan as well A very small country called Slovenia, beautiful but not a place for cake decorating - we only have one this-kin-of-store in the whole country and it's for companies mainly - they sell everithing in very large quantities... And of course most of the things I read about aren't even there... Besides they close at 4 pm which is unreachible for me most of the time...

Ok, I'll cut down the syrup, read that. We don't have knox gelatine so I'll try what is avalible - hope they are equally strong

I tried a mixture of my own this morning using cornstarch to thicken and gumtex for smoothness. It was not very thick. Since the Wilton piping gel doesn't have gelatin in it, I'm not going to try that. I think the key is the "modified food starch." Apparently, cornstarch ain't it. If I can find some, I'll try tapioca. That makes a clearer final product.

Went into Google and typed in ~ "Recipe for piping gel". I found this page: http://www.sugarcraft.com/catalog/misc/food.htm#mer
by following threads. It says that a 10 - 16oz. tub of piping get is $3.99.... a 5# tub is $10.50.

I bought a 5# tub from a cake supply wholesale house, when I visited another state. Since it was such a large amt., I asked how long it would keep. They told me that it keeps for a long, long time. The main thing was to keep the parchment liner directly on top of the remaining gel, as I lowered the amt. left in the tub. They told me to give the whole thing a stir, when I went into the tub. If I wasn't using it, just give the gel a good stir at least every other week. That prevents any mold from growing in it. I've had this tub for at least 3+ years. There isn't any mold on it and it stills smells the same as it did when I purchased it. The only trouble is that it has darkened in color. (Still ok for adding to frosting 'water'. Actually the light yellow color now makes the waves look more realistic!)

The brand is "White Stokes, Agar Piping Gel. The ingredients listed are: Sugar, Corn Syrup, Water, *Agar-Agar, Tartaric Acid, 1/10 of 1% Benzoate of Soda, Potassium Sorbate as a Preservative. Note.... The lid reads "This Gel keeps Indefinitely. After the can has been opened and not used for sereral weeks a small amount of mold may form. This can be prevented by stirring it once in two or three weeks."
FYI.... White Stokes Co., Inc. is located at 3615 S. Jasper Pl., Chicago, IL ~ 60609 (according to the lid's text).

*I checked out what agar agar is and found that it is a gelatin made from seaweed. It thickens better than reg. gelatin, the article reads.
http://www.foodsubs.com/ThickenGelatins.html
Vegans like to use it, it says, because it's not derived from animal product, like reg. gelatin. My DH and I are vegans and haven't eaten jello because of that fact. WOW... I can now make my own and can be 'guilt free'. You can buy agar, agar in any health food store

If anyone uses the agar, agar instead of the reg. gelatin, because it thickens better, please let us know. Please note that the White Stokes brand has a preservative in it that keeps it from going bad.

Hope this helps... Happy gellin people

Ok guys, i'm experimenting right now! Gatta go check on my third try to see how it thickened up in the fridge.

But so far, not just there yet. I am getting REALLY close to a really nice final product though. I might have found a weird secret to getting it smooth. We'll see tomorow. I really do think the third try is either extremely close, or it's it.

The good news is that the recipe doesn't require corn syrup right now ,but i have to ask if you have corn starch there? I know it's a dumb question ,but i just want to be sure.

Darra thanx for the recipe and if you ever go to Vienna in Austra there you can get tapioca starch.

FD thanx soooo much for trying so hard! We also have cornstach and that's the only starch I know of to be avalible here. I could get potatoe starch from a chemical company but I rather use cornstarch. Haven't found wheat starch...
Can't wait to try your recipe (when you submit it first, of course Thanx again!

Hi! I´m new here and for all my questions I found an anwer here in the forum, so there was no need to post. Now I can help somebody - what a feeling.

Darra, I live in Germany as well and I know that sometimes it ist difficult to find the right ingredients. I have to subsitute many things and make experiments. Many things are try and error. My last disaster I had with self-raising floor. I found many different recipes to make it out of all-purpouse flour and actually I chose the wrong one. The cake tasted kind of weird.

Ok. I don´t know exactly what tapioca is, but you can find it at an asia-shop or at www.asia-shop-top.de (search for tapioka - not for tapioca).
And I have another good tip. At www.tortissimo.de you can order many stuff AND they deliver a big variaty from Wilton. You have to order the pricing list.

Hope this helps

If its runny, add another half envelope of gelatin to the recipe, itll help it set up thicker. If it ends up being too thick, reheat it in a double boiler and add more liquid, tiny amounts at a time. I'll try to fix it (Im more on the culinary side, this recipe is like an aspic) but let me know if you're able to fix it. If I get it less watery, I'll post what i used. Hope this helps

Hm.. I let the gel thicken overnight, and t came out really nice and thick ,but a milky color and with a little bit of lumps(small amount of the gel thickened more than the rest) I'm going to see about heating it up again. But it's really nice and thick and nice to pipe, just milky white.

I'm going to try a different approach now ,and see if it works. If it doesn't i'll post the other recipe. It doesn't require any corn syrup so it's workable.

thanks so much! You know that otter is my very favouritte animal?