[Sca-cooks] Re: Sugar plate and mastic?

[alysk at ix.netcom.com]

Greetings.  Sugar plate calls for gum tragacanth ("gum dragon".  As discussed, it isn't gum mastic, nor do I believe that I have seen gum arabic used for sugar paste (although someone could prove me wrong).  A local person made it with gum arabic once and the consistency and taste was not the same.  Modern gum paste mixes seem to use a cheaper gum, often labeled as "gum karaya".  Gum tracacanth produces a whiter sugar paste/plate than does the gum karaya which is sort of pinkish brown in cast, although it isn't really noticeable unless you put it next to something that is really white.

Alys Katharine