SC - Gums Arabic and Tragacanth

[Elise Fleming]

Greetings!  (Drat digest format where it's harder to quote from posts!) 
 Someone mentioned getting gum arabic and thought other names for it 
were gum tragacanth, gum dragon, etc.  No, and no.  Gum arabic isn't 
gum tragacanth.  While both are used in cookery, gum tragacanth's 
primary use in period seems to have been in making sugar paste (modern 
day gum paste).  You can't substitute gum arabic for gum tragacanth.  I 
would hypothesize that the reverse would also be true, that one 
shouldn't substitute gum tragacanth for gum arabic.  One of 
tragacanth's uses is as a strengthener.  Arabic has been used to mix 
with colorants so that one can paint them onto foods or confections.

When using one or the other, see what the recipe says, then use that 
one.  I've been in the presence of sugar paste made with gum arabic.  
'Tain't the same thing!

Alys Katharine
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