Gumpaste Flower Disaster Due To Humidity
Decorating By JeNetty Updated 18 Dec 2006 , 3:02am by BlakesCakes
Can anyone suggest any additive that I can use to help guard against humidity affecting my gum paste flowers? I spent HOURS on a life size poinsettia, and it dried well...then we had a freak storm and the high humidity MELTED it to a big gooey mess.... 
HELP!
I live in a VERY humid climate....any suggestions would be welcome...even suggestion on another material I can use in substitution of gum paste....
THANKS!
Have you tried Nick Lodge gumpaste recipe. He perfected it just for those humid moments that seems to plague us all. http://www.nicholaslodge.com/gumpaste.htm He uses Tylose in the recipe.
First of all, WELCOME, NEWBIE!!!
I might recommend the following for your dilemma: do you have a food dehydrator? I live in Michigan and it's fairly humid here at various times of the year. I will sometimes put my gum paste items in the dehydrator and let it run to dry them out. This helps a great deal for me.
Also, when you have a dried item, perhaps you can store it in a box that also contains a dish of dessicant which is exposed to the air. It's used for drying flowers, I believe. And, although it is NOT edible, if you are using it in the same larger container as your gum paste pieces, but in its own container so it collects the moisture from the air, it just may help. Maybe a used butter tub with a nylon sock stretched over the top to keep the dessicant exposed to the air but so it will not get on your precious gum paste will work. Just a thought ....
Finally, what about switching to chocolate paste? I have been experimenting with that for the past few months and have had some success with it, although I am still trying to find the right ratio of chocolate to corn syrup so my paste isn't "grainy".
I hope this helps you out. And fear not, if my suggestions aren't quite what you were looking for, there are others out here who might even have better ideas. We're here to help you out and cheer you on!
Go JeNetty, Go!!!
Happy Baking,
Odessa
You have all my sympathy. I recently moved to Hawaii from S. California. I have had endless problems with humidity. I think I have found a way to overcome it. First, Wilton Gum Paste is no good in humidity. I am now using Nicholas Lodge's & I add extra Tylose to it, it is MUCH better. The following tip I got from Cakes By Sam, place finished Gum Paste items in an air tight container with sachets of Silica Gel/Sand. I could only find the containers of Gel/Sand so I made up my own bags. This Gel/Sand absorbs 40% of it's own weight in moisture. It is working very well for me, it turns pink when it has absorbed all the moisture it can. To revive it just place it in the Microwave until you see the blue crystals again. Although it is quite expensive it can be used over & over again. I hope this helps you.
June
The following tip I got from Cakes By Sam, place finished Gum Paste items in an air tight container with sachets of Silica Gel/Sand. ... This Gel/Sand absorbs 40% of it's own weight in moisture. ... it turns pink when it has absorbed all the moisture it can. To revive it just place it in the Microwave until you see the blue crystals again.
this is exactly what I mean by dessicant. Thanks June for giving a word to my meaning! 
I can't believe I couldn't think of the word silica. Duhhhh....
Aobodessa,
What is a food hydrator & where would I buy one, how much do they cost? Wow many questions!!!
June
June, a food hydrator --- oops again! I meant DE-hydrator --- is a machine that plugs in and sits on your counter and is used to make dehydrated fruits ... like turning grapes into raisins, etc. You can use it to make "fruit leathers" (which are also great for cake decorating in the right places). It usually takes overnight to turn a piece of fruit into a dehydrated item, but it depends on the thickness of the piece of fruit, etc. I also have used mine to make jerky.
I think I bought mine at Meijer's (which is like a K-mart or Wal-mart but her in the midwest). You can probably find it at a camping supply store (Gander Mountain?) also. Or check online for "food dehydrator". I believe ours only ran us $40-$45. Very worth the price if you need it for this type of thing.
Hope this answers your question,
Odessa
YOU GUYS ROCK!!!
Such helpful tips! I will try Nick Lodges' recipe for gumpaste!!! I am using Wilton's as it has always worked for me in the past - I lived in a fairly humid climate in Ontario, so, I'm used to being "creative" with drying techniques...now that I am in Bermuda, I am battling humidity levels of 96-100%! Its' crazy!
Unfortunately, I probably won't get the tylose in time for this cake...but I will order some for future ones!
I can't get my hands on a fairly price dehydrator right now, but - I will have to invets in one for sure!
I'll try the silica gel for now though! I have set up a "drying station" in my closet by putting my dehumidifier in there - us cake geeks are inventive! hahahaha!
Thanks for the welcome too! Glad I found you guys!
Well, JeNetty, you're certainly welcome for the help and we sure hope that you can overcome the humidity to make your cake the awesome creation that we know it will be. Please post a few photos so we can see it when you're finished.
Happy Baking,
Odessa
Hi all:
I'm just posting this incase anyone else is battling humidity like I am!
I had the chance to talk to a pastry chef at one of the swanky hotels here in Bermy and got some great advice!
He said it was a great idea to use vodka to paint with gels (instead of lemon juice like I have always used)...but he also suggested using Kirsch as it gives the flower a really nice smell....(I used the vodka as suggested and it worked AMAZINGLY!!! Thanks again for the advice!)
He also said that instead of using gum paste (even with the tylose) I could try "Pastiage" which is a mixture of egg whites, icing sugar, and gelatin...he said that stuff dries ROCK solid - and doesn't absorb moisture as much as gum paste - he told me they even have problems with gum paste at the hotel...anyone have a recipe for this? If I find one, I'll post it!
He said you have to work with this stuff quickly cause it dries instantly...and he said that I should use egg whites only, never meringue powder.
He said that once it's dry you can even take sandpaper to the pastiage creation to smooth it out!
Regarding other frostings (buttercream, royal, whipped cream) he said that those should be okay in our humid climate - and never to put these in the fridge or they'll sweat.....
Eeeekkkk I am so excited!
I had gone with a friend the oher week to deliver some stuff to this hotel, and OMG! If you guys could have seen the pastry kitchen - you'd think you had died and gone to HEAVEN! And the huge chocolate sculptures - GORGEOUS! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I should've been a pastry chef!
I think it's funny that they had a drying room...similar to my makeshift one! HAHAHAHAHA!
Pastillage is generally used for thick sided items--usually straight sided or molded things, but not flowers. It just dries so quickly that it will crack before you can finesse and shape the petals, etc. It's great for support pieces that need to bear weight, but for the most part, it's not really meant ot be rolled thin.
Rae
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%