I have always used the wilton RTU. I do like it yet I was hoping to find something homemade or something I could purchase in a larger size. I tried wilton's homemade recipe and found it was much, much too soft and not gummy enough. I tried a mexican paste recipe from patchwork cutters and did not like that either. I would appreciate your advice.

I do like the Satin Ice gumpaste. I use the Wilton if I'm out...but I think it has an unpleasant odor to it...I would choose the rtu over the mix(which I think is total kaka!). I haven't had any luck....my own shortcoming...with making my own....I'd just as soon get ready made and brand of choice for me is Satin Ice.

I HATE GUMPASTE!!!!

I hate the way it rolls out, I hate the way that its either really sticky or really dry, I hate the texture of it, I hate the way that it almost dries while I am trying to work with really thin sheets of it. UGH, HATE IT!

With that being said, I probably need to use it more often. I try and get by on fondant as much as I can. If I need something to dry REALLY rock hard I knead some tylose powder into my fondant. That gives it the rock hard drying power of GP.

Hands down Nicholas Lodge's gumpaste recipe. It is beautiful stuff. Easy peasy to make and it has great stretch and elasticity. You can roll it super thin and still work with it.

I hated the wilton stuff.. even the RTU. I haven't tried any other RTU stuff beacuse I love the Nic Lodge recipe so much. If you have some tylose you should try making it.

http://www.nicholaslodge.com/gumpaste.htm

I make mine from scratch. I use the Nick Lodge recipe and it's great. I highly recommend it.

Thanks! I had a look at the N. Lodge recipe. I have a few questions. Does using the raw egg white make this recipe non-edible? Also, the recipe specifies crisco so is that the 'new' crisco? Could I just use some sweetex instead? Thanks again.

Without a doubt Nic Lodge!
I tried many different kinds/recipes but absolutely the best is his.

I would have to say, "Scott Clark Wooley's" gumpaste recipe is the best.
I make it once a month and my flowers dry quick.
www.cakesbydesign.com

I love Nicholas Lodge's gum paste for making flowers and things that are rolled thin. But I have a hard time with it when it comes to making figures. It dries too quickly and it's very hard to roll it into a smooth ball.

I have a different recipe I use for making figures. I think it's easier to work with. You can combine both recipes 50/50 with fondant and it also makes the gum paste easier to model with. I will PM you the recipe if you want it.

I also use Nicholas Lodge's recipe and have often used dried, reconstituted egg white. I do think it is a little "tighter" than when made with raw egg white, but I've had too many people tell me they ate the decorations even after I told them they weren't really edible and wouldn't taste good and I don't always have pastuerized egg white at hand. I don't add in all the reserved sugar at the end, and this works really well for me.

In a class with Earlene Moore a couple of years ago, she recommended adding a bit of piping gel if fondant or gumpaste got too hard to work easily. This works pretty well if you knead it in with rubbed with a bit of shortening. Nicholas Lodge always kneads shortening in first thing anyway, every time he picks up a piece of gumpaste.

And I've used Sweetex instead of Crisco a lot to make this. Usually I have a little can of Crisco and 50 lbs of Sweetex, so I reach for that first. It seems to work fine.

Scott Woolley's page is http://www.cakesbydesign.cc/

and the recipe is here http://www.cakesbydesign.cc/GumPasteRecipe.html

(hoping it links right.. his web-page is a nightmare to navigate.. Santa needs to bring him a new site for X-mas)

Thanks for the Gum Paste recipes!

Thank you everyone. I am going to try many if not all of these suggestions!!

Whew! I'm glad I'm not the only one who couldn't roll a simple ball with Nick Lodge's! I was trying to make a deer and all the little parts that wouldn't really roll together looked like a pile of poo on my counter (so said my son, in a few other terms!) , so I bought my deer figure instead! I thought it was just me!

N. Lodges recipe without a doubt! Its great for flower making, where you want your paste as thin as possible. For modelling I mix it with plain fondant.

I like to use CK's best. It is a fast drying gum paste--in that it crusts fast, so no diddling around. To make it you just add water. Nic Lodge's is very nice you have more time to work with it.

You have to get the hang of it.

If it's too loose and wimpy add cornstarch or more powdered sugar. Roll a ball and set it on the counter cover with a plastic. Wait five mins. If it flattens out add more stuff. Do it again till you get what you want.

If it's too dry add shortening as was mentioned or even a dot more of water (if you're still in the mixing process). Piping gel is a great idea because it has gelatine in it.

Re: raw egg whites
In Nic's recipe I use Wilton's RI recipe calling for meringue powder then after it is whiipped up stiff add the Tylose. It's great & you don't have to worry about raw whites
I started doing this when I was teaching Wilton classes. I had to make RI in class & didn't have anything to use it for.....I hate throwing out good ingredients so one day I thought I'd try Nic's recipe and it worked just fine.
One time I went out of town following my class. The royal was in a tubberwear type container in the car for like 3-4 days before I returned & had time to add the Tylose and it still turned out fine