I need some help from the MMF making gurus here!

I started making MMF after joining here and seeing that I could save lots of money by doing so. I enjoy the process and the taste very much, but I just can't get rid of the little balls of powdered sugar. I am following directions exactly, have looked at several tutorials here, on youtube, and on the web, and I'm doing it just like everyone else:

Apx. 16oz mini marshmallows in a bowl with 2-3 tbls water (tried both), nuke for 30 sec, stir, 30 more seconds and so on until melted. Then, I've tried it both ways of stirring in PS in the bowl and not. Then turn out on a greased and ungreased counter (tried both ways) that has about a pound of PS on it. Start mixing it together, adding more PS as you go (sifted and unsifted, tried it both ways). Kneading until right consistency, grease with shortening, and double wrap. I've then tried placing it in the fridge and also leaving it out on the counter, anywhere from a couple of hours, to overnight, to two days ahead.

I'm still getting the balls of PS. I try to crumble them as I find them when kneading, but there's so many. And I've tried all different brands of PS, from WalMart brand to Domino.

I'm in Alabama, so not sure if humidity has anything to do with it.. but there are lots of you who live in humid places that make great fondant.. so what in the world is going on?

I've only ever had that problem once and that was when I bought a cheaper brand of PS. Now I either by Imperial or Domino.

Here are my steps:

coat microwave proof bowl with crisco
Add 1 16 oz bag mini marshmallows, 1T water, 1 T flavor
Nuke until melted, stirring often
Coat the bowl of my KA with Crisco
Add 1 2lb bag of PS
Add the melted marshmallows
Mix using the dough hook on level 1 only
if it's too stiff I add a couple drops of water
When it's mixed I pour it (if you can call it that) out onto a sheet of saran that I have sprayed with cooking spray. Wrap it tight and put it into a ziploc bag. Then I just let it sit until I need it, which is usually a couple of days later. If it's too stiff, I pop it in the microwave for about 10 seconds and it's perfect.

I use to fight with Fondant and different recipes, I found this one, I flavor it however I want and I don't fuss with other recipes, no matter what anyone says.

I use the exact same recipe and process when making MMF. I used to go through the hassle of greasing up (and then subsequently cleaning up) my counter until I read that some people on CC use the Kitckenaid mixer with the dough hook and I decided to give it a try... It works wonders! I had the same problems with the darn PS clumps and the dough hooks seems to do a pretty good job of getting rid of them! Good luck!

Im sorry to hear that you are having trouble, Im by no means a proffesional. I usually always use walmar PS I sift it like 3 times though (I hate sifting by the way always creates like static lol)

And if I get a couple of Ps rocks I pinch them out but nothing vey bad.

Are you taking to long to mix the sugar into the marshmellow? When making it? So maybe thats why its clumping a lil?

Im sorry wish I could be more help.

I used to have this issue and found that if I added the ps slowly so that all of the moisture was slowly absorbed it made for less ps balls. But this is one of the reasons I'm not a huge lover of the stuff. It is waaaay cheaper but it's such a pain to make sometimes. When it comes out right I think it's the best stuff ever. But that only happens for me sometimes. Good luck!

I had this EXACT problem just a few months ago and asked for help on here as well as I started my own trial and error. From what I found out... I'm betting you're marshmellows are too hot when you add them to your PS. That was the fix for me. I stir them up (add color if I want it) and then let them sit for about 5 minutes or so and cool. I'm telling you... that did the trick.

Here is a link to when I asked the question. You can re-read what I figured out as well as see all the great tips others helped me with.

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-648968-.html

Also, I fixed the issue of the marshmellows sticking to the bowl. Grease the inside of the bowl with Crisco before adding and melting them.

Here is a youtube video that shows making it in the kitchen aid. I did it this way and it worked great!

That's the same recipe I've been using and I started having the same problems a few months ago. I tried so many of the tips, thought I just had bad marshmallows or ps, but 2 nights ago, I tried a new recipe. Can't remember the name of it, but got it on here and it had lemon juice and corn syrup...oh my gosh, it was so much easier to work with, in fact I said out loud "This is what this is supposed to be like?" I didn't have to fight it as much. Maybe it was rhonda's mmf, I'm sure someone will chime in, but I did two batches back to back, the original recipe and then this one and it was an amazing difference!

Alright, this is all very helpful so far. I did create one batch in my KA like, months ago and honestly, I can't remember how it turned out.

So I'm going to make two more batches tomorrow; one in my KA using the method above, and then one batch letting the MM set for 5 mins after melting.

Hopefully one of those will be better! Thanks so much for all the info and tips so far!

I always get lots of PS clumps, but they dissolve after letting it sit overnight. They aren't dissolving??

are you sifting the PS? That helped to really decrease the little balls for me. Sometimes I'll still find a few and I'll just squish them into the fondant. I'm in Alabama, too... in Hoover. Where are you located?

Melanie Mc.

Alright, I don't wanna jinx it, but I think I might have had a hallelujah moment

Did two batches today, both in the KA. Will be using it from now on because it saves SO much mess!

I tried one batch with hot out of the microwave MM and one where I let the MM sit 4 or 5 minutes before I added them to the mixer. And in both cases I sifted my PS into my mixer as I went.

The hot out of the microwave did still have some lumps, but not as many as when I made batches mixing by hand.

But holy moly.. I think the batch where I let the MM cool is just about perfect! As I was kneading it at the very end and wrapping it, I don't think I felt any lumps. I seriously did a happy dance in the kitchen The only downside to this was it made a much smaller batch, but I know it was because I couldn't get all of the MM out of the bowl. It wasn't greased beforehand, so that was my mistake.

So even though lots of other people can take their MM straight from the microwave to the PS, obviously I can't.. and now that I know waiting will work, I'm ok with that! You guys might have just saved my nerves, and saved me some money since I will continue to make my own. Now to just get some super white to brighten up the color of the fondant for a less-ivory look.

Thanks tremendously everyone!

Isn't it weird how one thing works for one person but creates disaster for another.

I'm sooooo happy that worked for you Harley Dee.... cause it helps me prove that I wasn't crazy! LoL

I've had nothing but great batches come out since stumbling on that.

Yeah, grease the bowl up really good, and you should be good and set!

I'm happy dancing with you!

Thanks for that tip! I'm going to have to try it because it only sometimes works out for me. And it is so much less expensive. I'm glad you got it figured out!

ahhhh...the dough hook! I hadn't thought of using it. I am glad I stopped in here and read this board.

oh and...that Wilton white stuff? Does that really work? I have seen it but have never tried it.

Thanks
Sherry

Yes the Wilton white stuff works pretty good... I've used it for getting bright white fondant..
Mix it in while in the melted stage and you should see it brighten considerably.

Thanks! I will get some of this the next time I am out just to have on hand.
I really have to stay out of the stores for a while though. I spent a small fortune this morning at Global Sugar Art....ugh...