[Sca-cooks] Re: Fruitcakes Are Dangerous (and so is sugar paste)

[Elise Fleming]

Cailte wrote:
>bet SOMEBODY in the post office had a cow thinking it might be some kind
>of plastique!


When I traveled to the Cooks' Convention in Colorado Springs to teach a class on sugar paste, I had a sealed-from-the-factory bag of commercially labeled gum paste mix as well as a large blob (1-1.5 lb.) of gum paste already mixed up and in a ziploc bag.  Both were in my checked luggage.  While waiting to board the plane, a man came up to me and asked if I was who I was, and then just what was it I had in my luggage, please?  I told him.  He said that was what they thought it was since I had books of gum paste design and photos along with the other items.  He left and I figured everything was okay.  When I finally opened the bag in the hotel room I discovered that some *%#@! had _slit_ the bag of gum paste powder.  The powdered sugar had infiltrated everything in the suitcase - books, clothes, fabric of the lining - everything.  I had about half a bag left.   No one said they'd done anything.  None of the idiots had put the damaged bag into one of the empty ziploc bags that were next to it.  Sugar paste plastique!

Alys Katharine