I several burning questions after this week's Wilton class where we made RI and CF for the first time.

Why does CF smell...bad?
Why can't RI be used just like CF?
And most importantly: How do I store left over RI (don't care about the goo-gobs of CF left over!)? Right now, after making more pink and purple flowers than I know what do to with, my trash compacter looks like a rainbow threw up in there...

I love my Wilton class, but dang we throw a lot of sugar away every week.

First of all RI can be refridgerated for about 2 weeks before it needs to be thrown away or used up (I know people who have used RI flowers that were a year old).

2nd Whenever I use color flow I always dilute RI, because according to my Wilton teacher the only reason to use Wilton's color flow mix is because you bought it with the course 2 kit. It's just a waste of money and time because diluted RI works just as well. That being said I don't know why color flow smells when it is made with the mix because I don't use it.

Hope that helps!
Deborah

I thought that my teacher told us that color flow is stronger/less brittle than royal icing. So far I've only used color flow so a haven't compared the two.

Those RI flowers I keep in an airtight container and use whenever I need them, they last forever it seems. I personally have never used color flow, but have wondered what would be the difference between color flow and thinned RI? I love watching these threads, I learn something new ALL the time.........................

My Wilton teacher said that real color flow is a little bit stronger, but not worth the extra money for the special mix. After all when made with diluted RI it still is glossy and fills in the piping without overflowing.

Deborah

Oh yeah one more benfit of using diluted RI is that you can thicken it back up with powered sugar and still use it as regular RI, that way you don't have left over color flow.

Thanks everyone for the input and info! I was told that you couldn't refrigerate RI, and leaving it sit out seemed icky. So I just tossed it all...wah! What a waste...sigh...(I sound like my mother! )

I am glad to hear that thinned RI will produce similar results to the color flow mix. Since we had to make both for last class, I was able to compare them side by side. That is how I noticed the smell.

I love color flow. I use RI when i'm doing tiara's and such but i've found that it dries solid on a cookie after a day. (great if you're using markers on the cookie) Color flow gets a hard layer but stays soft and keeps the cookie softer. It does eventually dry hard, but my cookies don't usually last that long. This is just my experience. I know most of the people here use RI. I usually flavor the colorflow with a little almond or vanilla. I've only stored it in the fridge for 2-3 days.

I use RI exclusively for my run-in sugar. And I do A LOT of run-in sugar. Wilton "invented" Colorflow so they'd have a product to sell along with their run sugar lesson. It's a little stronger than RI, but as others have said, not enough to justify paying 5 times more for it than a can of meringue powder.

RI can be stored at room temp for a couple of weeks, BUT --- you won't want to use rebeaten RI for run-in sugar pieces. It's not as strong as freshly made RI. Go ahead -- ask me how I know this!

Can you use luster dust on royal?