[Sca-cooks] Sugarpaste Questions

[TheBard3]

Was thinking of making some candy to give as gifts and had a question or two.  I've made edible cinnamonsicks before (found out halfway through that my pasta machine worked really well for getting it even) so I've worked with it some.  

Thing that's mainly getting me is that what I've used in the past, gum tragacanth, isn't that easy to find.  Was wondering if gum arabic will work the same?  Know it sounds silly but all I've ever really used that one for is guilding and making a batch of watercolors once.  If not, have a friend who does cakes as a hobby and uses Gum-Tex to make some decorations, but I'm not sure about it because I have no idea what's in it and all that.

Also, if the color isn't a factor wouldn't raw sugar work as well as white?

Now off to check the Florilegium archive to also see what's there..

Thanks,
James P.