[Sca-cooks] Sugar Paste, Not Dead Flesh!

[Elise Fleming]

Selene wrote:
>I would like some detailed
>description of what the stuff looks and feels like, wet and dry, so
I
>know when I've got the mixture right.

Well, it obviously helps if you have someone showing you.  (Take a
class in gum paste?  It's the same thing, but modern.)  Too wet
sugar paste sticks to your fingers and the board you are kneading
on.  Too dry is crumbly paste, won't form a ball.  When you try to
roll it out it won't roll well, it cracks like too dry pie dough.

One trick I learned from a sugar paste book is that when you first
knead it, try to pull the ball of paste apart in your hands (like
taffy).  You should probably notice that it snaps off and doesn't
stretch very much.  As you continue to knead and work the paste you
can stretch it more and more.  Finally, you can pull the paste apart
and it stretches like taffy, without breaking as a thick piece.
(Does this make any visual sense to you?)

If you try to roll the paste out on a board and it keeps sticking to
the rolling pin and/or the board, you probably need to add more
sugar because it's too wet.  If you sprinkle the board and pin with
powdered sugar and can roll out the dough without it sticking (after
powdering the board and pin), you've probably got it right.

Gee... I really should make a trip out to ...??? (California??)  My
daughter lives in San Francisco and wants me to visit...

Alys Katharine