Hi all!

I have made Nicholas Lodges's from scratch gumpaste. When I go to roll and thin it out for flowers, it wants to retract back to size. Think of an elastic band. I will roll and roll and roll to get the almost see through thickness, but the gumpaste will shrink back and shrink back to a thicker and smaller size.


Any thoughts on why this is doing that????

Are you sure you followed the directions for his recipe? That is the only gumpaste I use, and I never have had that issue with it. Did you use tylose? How much powdered sugar did you use? Did you let it set overnight before using it?

Instead of making the full receipe, I made half. So, I took all the listed ingredients and cut them all in half.


Would that mess me up?

Yes, I did let it sit for 24 hours in the fridge...


Thank you for the help.....

Is his recipe in his website or do we have it here?

I "Googled" his name and Gumpaste and found it that way. Not sure if it is on this site...

I never put mine in the refrigerator, and I always make a full batch. (not much help there, am I?)

Yes, just google his name and gumpaste recipe, it will pop up. Not sure if it is on here or not.

I never asked him when I took his classes if halving the recipe would be an issue.

Loucinda......

Thank you for your help. On his site it states to place in fridge to settle for 24 hours and when not in use to place in the fridge.....

My question to you is, since you took his class he did not mention to store in the fridge???


Thanks,.....

do you knead you gumpaste before you use it?
i buy mine premade, and it has to be kneaded to work properly.
xx

Yes, I knead the crap out of it. I also add shortening to it to help soften it....

just to be awkward - gumpaste can be over kneaded - although i *think* that makes it go too soft.
maybe just a bit too much of whatever makes it elastic? maybe try mixing in a bit of fondant or bought gumpaste to save this batch? although as i said - i dont make my own, so it may be salvageable on its own!
xx

He only told us to refrigerate it if we didn't use it all at one time - to make it last longer. I have to date never put mine in the refrigerator. I grease it like I do the fondant and double wrap it then stick it in a ziploc bag. He may post that just to cover things in case someone didn't use common sense and used some that wasn't good any longer.

i use nicks g/p all the time... i even freeze it. wrap small logs of it..put all in a freezer bag and put in freezer. when i need a log.. take out and let soften at room temp. when i first make it.. i do put in fridge... then freezer.. i,ve done this for 15 yrs..i always make a full batch... never halved it.. works great for me.. i bought his premade made several years ago.. did not like it.. it felt like you say yours feels.. just like his from scratch..

Nicholas Lodge tylose gum paste recipe:

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

HTH

I just made his gumpaste for the 1st time, full recipe, followed the instructions on his website. Have kept it in the fridge for 2 weeks and it worked beautifully for roses and a tower this week. Strong and easy to work with. Maybe you mis-measured?

If the gumpaste is too elastic, could it have too much egg white in it?

I have used Nick's recipe many times and it always comes out perfect. I refrigerate or freeze mine until I need to use it. Since it has fresh egg whites in it, I think it should be stored that way. As I recall, I think Nick says to refrigerate or freeze the gumpaste. I, too, wrap small logs in Stretch-Tite plastic wrap and then put in a zip loc bag.

Thank you all.

1 more question....I think....


Egg Whites......Is it ok to buy the egg whites that come in the small milk carton style at Wal-mart/Grocery Stores or should I take the egg whites directly from an egg??


Thanks,

I just madde 1/2 a batch on Thursday night. I made some magnolias with it yesturday, and I no problems. My advice is to check all measuring spoons and cups, lay them out. Get ingredients and lay them out. Measure everything, and have them in individual containers. Then begin your recipe.

It may seem obvious, but, I tried making a batch of Toba's fondant. When it was done it seemed nothing like fondant to me. I had measure the wrong quantity of glycerine and it threw the whole recipe off.
Tried it again, using above advice, great fondant.
So, sometimes a minute mistake can yield disastrous results ...