Are sugarpaste and gumpaste the same thing? I want to try my hand at those pretty roses I've been seeing.
Gina

From what I've read, and I'm no expert, sugarpaste is what the British call fondant. You can add gumtex to sugarpaste to turn it into gumpaste.

I know gumpaste is for flower-making because it dries harder.

Hi

No, they're not the same thing. Sugarpaste is what you guys in the US call fondant.

Gumpaste has a stiffening agent added (gum tragacanth, tylose or CMC etc) to give the paste more strength and to allow it to dry a bit faster. If you want to make roses, gumpaste is best. You might need to try a few recipes or a few brands of the ready-made commercial gumpaste to find the one that suits you best - they are all a little different.

By the way, outside of the US, gumpaste is usually called flower paste or moulding paste (in case you see those terms).

Kind regards,
Cris.

I have another question, what does it taste like? Gumpaste, I mean? The word paste always reminds me of the kid who ate paste in kindergarten

I love the books by Debbie Brown, Mich Turner, etc. So I definitely learned the difference once I started reading them.
I've only tried the Wilton gumpaste because I'm just starting to try flowers. But I'm sure there are others that are superior.

Thanks for the advise. I was gonna buy so Wilton tomorrow and try it. Wish me luck. The advise on this site is sooooooo helpful. Can't thank everyone enough. If I didn't have you fellow cakers I'd just be floating around by myself and probably not try anything new!!!!!