I searched here but did not find anything yet. I want to make a few molds to be used with poured sugar. I know I can use silicone, which I've never done before, but thought this idea would work. I have some polymer clay (Sculpy) and thought I could just make my impression in that, harden it in the oven, cool it, spray it with Pam, then pour into that. I would think the Pam would allow for release without the mold having to be flexible. Any thoughts?

Just had another thought. Maybe I don't even need to harden the mold. Just use the Sculpy while it is still soft.

While polymer clay is now considered non-toxic, you never know what chemicals escape when the heat of pour sugar is applied.

Go to this website -

www.chefrubber.com

They used to have instructions on how to make food-safe molds on their homepage.

Theresa

Good site, but I have to do this in the next day. I'll give the Sculpy a try both ways and see what happens.

I agree with playingwithsugar...the clay just isn't safe! The Sculpy books even say to not use the same tools that you use with the clay on food products.

I appreciate that, but I probably find just as much on how it's probably fine to use as I do that it shouldn't be used. This is just one example, of course the source may be biased, but there were many other similar results in my search too:

http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/cyclopedia/pc_safety_th.html

My original question came from the perspective as to whether it was technically possible to do, not whether I should.

I was interested to know about this too So I did a search and this is what I found. oven baked polymer clay should not be heated over 350 F( I checked MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET for poly form )
Handling: Do not heat above 175°C (350°F), allow to come in contact with an open flame or use with a hot
knife or wire. Use oven thermometer when hardening material in oven. Do not use microwave
oven for baking. Do not overbake. Do not exceed the recommended baking temperature or time.
Wash hands with soap and water after use.

and since the poured sugar is around 350 F it could melt your poly mold.

I've not tried it myself, but I read before that you can use cornstarch to make a temporary mold for hard candy. I imagine the effectiveness of the cornstarch mold would depend on the level of detail you are trying to achieve in the mold. Here's a link to the site I found that talks about this method in case it is something you think would work for you.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Corn-Starch-Candy-Molds/

Charmed, that is good information to know. I think I'll pass on the Sculpy just based on that. Thanks!

Geseka, cool link. I wish I could see it being done to know if any detail is preserved. To me, logically, the candy would move the corn starch when it was poured in, but maybe not.

Anyone, if I pour the boiled sugar out on a slab and keep it warm, can I just cut pieces off and form it by hand or with modeling tools?

Hi Renoir,

You most certainly can pour sugar out on a slab and work it into shapes. Chefs have been doing that for fifty years. I also would not use sculpey to cast sugar - it simply is not designed to take that kind of heat and I also think it would not be safe as it may leave a residue on your casting that should not be ingested.

Hope This Helps
Dominic