What's the difference? One of my friends (both of us being newbies to this cake decorating thing) was asking me if I knew ... figured someone here could tell us before we could ask our genious of an instructor at class this week.

Thanks!

The sugar art world refers to cake coverings as icing, buttercream icing, rolled icing etc. "Frosting" is generally not used. (although I don't think you are punished if you call it frosting)

Frosting is the preferred term in the US. The preferred term for Europeans is icing. Here in the US, icing is generally used to refer to cake coverings that are thinner, can be poured or rolled. Frosting takes after the verb form and generally refers to coverings that are frosted onto the cake. This differs though depending on which part of the US you live in. I use them both interchangeably but to me, fondant and royal are icing. Buttercream is frosting.

Some bakers get really touchy about the icing/frosting thing. When I was a teenager I worked in a bakery that did mostly bread and doughnuts. The sheet cakes we sold were still in the pan and he didn't do any tier cakes but he threw a fit if you called it frosting. He'd tell you "frosting is what housewives make." Of course everyone who ordered a cake called it frosting to.
I think mostly what it gets called depends on where you live, just like the difference between soda and pop.

I've always called it icing. I guess because my mom always called it icing. And when you put it on a cake, it was called "icing the cake". I suppose it just depends where you are from, just like some people call carbonated beverage "Pop" and some call it "Soda". Just depends on your region.

Butterflyjuju - it is true that only frosting comes from a can and icing is homemade.
The whole pop/soda statement you maded makes me laugh. When ever I hear someone say soda all I can think is "you ain't from round here". It's funny how you can tell where someone is from based on what words they use. I grew up in the country of "Ahia" not Ohio - it is hard to overcome some of that!

Butterflyjuju- we experienced the "Coke" thing when we moved to Georgia as well. Coming from a place where it was soda to everything being Coke was a bit difficult to get used to.

I actually use icing and frosting interchangeably, though I'm trying not to....for some reason "icing" sounds so much better!

I use both terms, but have my own reasons as to when I use them. I use "frosting" to refer to the different consistencies for decorating (ie thin, medium, stiff) and "icing" to refer to a thinner consistency for icing the cake with.

~Chelle

[quote="butterflyjuju

I call it icing too if it's homemade but frosting if it's out of the can. But the "pop" and "soda" is what caught my attention. It's a long running joke that you know you are in Oklahoma when you hear this conversation, "Do you want a coke?" "Sure." "What kind?" "Dr. Pepper."[/quote]

That's not just in Oklahoma. I'm in Kentucky, and we call just about everything a "coke". In fact, I'm having a "coke" (Pepsi) right now! Hehe

That's how it was when I moved from RI to TN...everything went from soda to Coke. The first time I went to a fast food restaurant and asked for a Coke to be asked again what kind Also a difference when it came to sneakers which are almost always called tennis shoes. Sneakers is a candy bar

have you ever noticed that when you go into a restaurant and order a coke, that if they serve pepsi products they often make sure you know that? Coca cola sued several chains over the matter at one point, claiming that people were ordering their product and being served something else.

RE: the icing/frosting thing . . . that comment about frosting being something housewives make was snobbish . . .that must have been a horrible guy to work for

I consider the words interchangeable

Its funny to me that the pop/coke thing was brought up...I was just talking about this today!

I had went to Arkansas with my grandparents last summer and the waitress asked if I wanted a coke. I told her no, but I would like a Mt. Dew. She laughed and said, "same thing." I just looked at her like "oook then!!" After she left my grandma had to explain to me The teased me the whole way home. THats how you know Im from MIchigan. Pop, Tennis Shoes, and Up North