I couldn't believe it when Walmart was totally out of powdered sugar this week. So, I went next door to Target. All they had was what I assume is a store brand - Market Pantry. It was dirt cheap. I got four bags. I just now used it for the first time - to make a batch of gumpaste. The stuff seems weird. Kind of "shreddy"...not stretchy. Maybe it'll be OK after resting overnight, but it is definitely different. Has anybody ever used this particular brand of sugar before? Next time, I'll drive as far as I need to in order to get brand-name sugar.
But, then again...if the sugar is OK....maybe my source for "Brand X" Tylose is bad. I'm always trying to save a buck.... 
I'm leaning toward the sugar being the problem because it was so cheap. I need to go in and see if it says "cane" on it. Didn't think about that.
After I made the first post, I made up a recipe of edible glue with the bargain basement Tylose, and it behaved just as expected.
Glad the sugar was so cheap...I'm inclined to throw the other 3 bags out...but will wait until the morning and see if the gumpaste developed normally overnight.
I'm not a person who lives by labels, however, when it comes to baking and icing. It's name brand all of the way!!!! I was taught by a chef who owned her own restaurant and also was a wilton dealer and she pounded in my head name brand on all icing products!!! I will say that one time i went to wal-mart to get domino 10x sugar and they were all out so I ended up going to the local dollar general and got their brand. It wasn't tooo bad, it did work bettter than buying canned frosting, but I probably just got lucky. Who knows!!! Everyone has their favorites. Good luck.
You cn't make candy well out of beet sugar! It does not carmelize well at all just goes straight into a crystalized stage! Really beet sugar is inferior in pretty much everything. At least in icing it doesn't change the consistency and taste much, only leaves a slight chalky feel. Check out this article:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/03/31/FD91867.DTL
Here is a little blurp that I wrote in another thread about this same subject:
"If your powdered sugar label doesn't state that it is pure cane it is most likely beet. However, generic or store brands will get their sugar from wherever it is cheapest so if cane sugar is cheap that week thats what they will use. So you could get a store brands that works great for months and then all of a sudden it is beet sugar and you will have issues. The only way to know for sure is to use the brands that state that they are pure cane sugar.
Beet sugar does not carmelize at the same stage as cane. I had the most problems when making candy, it would never really carmelize and get to the hard stage that I needed, I would heat it way hotter than the recipe suggested and it would just crystalize. I also notice a difference in my baking. When I make certain cookies with beet sugar they go flat. In icing it just tastes a little chalky. After trying the cheap stuff and having intermitten results I finally looked into it and found out that it was because beet and cane sugars were being offered interchangably as the same product. So now I buy only pure cane sugar. On the West coast that is C&H and costco carries it in bulk so it's not too expensive."
Here is a little blurp that I wrote in another thread about this same subject:
"If your powdered sugar label doesn't state that it is pure cane it is most likely beet. However, generic or store brands will get their sugar from wherever it is cheapest so if cane sugar is cheap that week thats what they will use. So you could get a store brands that works great for months and then all of a sudden it is beet sugar and you will have issues. The only way to know for sure is to use the brands that state that they are pure cane sugar.
Beet sugar does not carmelize at the same stage as cane. I had the most problems when making candy, it would never really carmelize and get to the hard stage that I needed, I would heat it way hotter than the recipe suggested and it would just crystalize. I also notice a difference in my baking. When I make certain cookies with beet sugar they go flat. In icing it just tastes a little chalky. After trying the cheap stuff and having intermitten results I finally looked into it and found out that it was because beet and cane sugars were being offered interchangably as the same product. So now I buy only pure cane sugar. On the West coast that is C&H and costco carries it in bulk so it's not too expensive."
Thank you for that blurp!! You made a great point and that is why w/some recipes you can "cheat" on the ingredients and some you can't!!!! Awesome information!!!!! 
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