Clear Look with Pulled Sugar

[cakerookie]

Yeah, you are right about the cost. Most professionals start at $85.00 an hour for a sugar piece. It may go higher depending on the amount of detail wanted in the piece. All in all it is a very expensive art form both time wise and equipment wise. Most of my equipment I have made myself because I can not afford the high priced professional stuff. Besides the homemade stuff works just as well and not as expensive. And some of the stuff has been given to me by friends so I am coming out alright.Hey! CH. I am pretty close on the price range aren't I? What do you think?

[chrose]

Originally Posted by panini

Well, it is still quite alive.
It's just not seen as much these days.

That's true. Mostly they are done as show pieces and unless you're at that "show".....
Otherwise you'll find them mostly in upper end hotels and restaurants in the form of flowers, ribbons and twirly things.

Originally Posted by panini

For one, they are fragile, they have a short shelf life unless encased in vacuumned plexiglass boxes and lots of silicate or stone.

While true for the most part, humidity is the killer. I made a horse for my sister in L.A. and it sat on her shelf for several years before an earthquake finally did it in. The interesting thing is that as it aged the sugar did something, maybe it crystallized, I'm not sure I didn't see it close up, but it took on a very old ivory look to it. It really was extremely cool looking!

[chrose]

Originally Posted by cakerookie

Yeah, you are right about the cost. Most professionals start at $85.00 an hour for a sugar piece. It may go higher depending on the amount of detail wanted in the piece.

We always priced by the piece. We did a party in DC for the film premier of Beauty and the Beast from the AFI and Ewald made pieces of the charactors in the movie. The beauty, beast, etc. I did the rest of the lesser items. He charged something like $250 each. But then again it was Ewald Notter. I would have gotten about $125, but they also wouldn't have been nearly as nice!

Originally Posted by cakerookie

Most of my equipment I have made myself because I can not afford the high priced professional stuff. Besides the homemade stuff works just as well and not as expensive. And some of the stuff has been given to me by friends so I am coming out alright.Hey! CH. I am pretty close on the price range aren't I? What do you think?

That's what I did. I built it all myself and only bought the few things that weren't buildable. I did my whole station and equipment for less than $100 (Of course that was "wayyy back when"! )

[cakerookie]

Hey CH, Pan what the heck happened to my sugar? I used a different recipe in my practice session tonight and the stuff got brittle almost immediately. And it was a bull to pull it. Heres the recipe I used:

3/4 cups water
3 cups granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter dissolved in 1 teaspoon of water.
1/2 cup light corn syrup.

I have never had a batch to do that. The new recipe said to bring the mixture up to boil on low heat and stir constantly until the sugar dissolves. Once it comes to a boil add the corn syrup and mix well. Cover and let boil rapidly for a few minutes. Once the temp got to 280 it said add the cream of tarter and boil to desired temp. I went to 300 and took it off the heat and did that dipping thing for 10 seconds then poured it out onto the silpat.
I believe the mistake was bring it up slowly. But I cannot be sure what do you guys think?

[chrose]

This is a toughie (to me anyway) you don't want to bring it to a boil too quickly because that doesn't give the crystals time to dissolve. By the same token you don't want use too high a flame as that can add to caramelization and add to the chance of crystallization. Your quantity ratios seem about right, let me ask you this; When you boil the sugar, are you skimming the foamy scum off the top? If not you could be boiling the impurities right back into the sugar. Remember too that although the sugar is dissolved, what you can't see can hurt you. The sugar crystals are tougher than they appear. They may look dissolved, but in reality they may not be.
It sounds to me like you had almost instant crystallization. If that's the case, the likely culprits are:

• Undissolved sugar crstals that were left on the side of the pan. IE: Not washed down during the boiling.
• Not long enough of a boil to remove all the crystals.
• And impurities from the sugar and or corn syrup bottle.
• Any acids that may have been hanging around, on your utensils.
• A dirty Silpat
• And last but not least, moisture from the cooling bath that might have dripped somewhere. If it got into the sugar syrup and wasn't evaporated might have helped cause the problem.

Also what kind of coloring agent did you use? That can have an effect too.
I'd like to hear Jeffs thoughts on this as well.

[panini]

Hey,
I first want to encourage more posts in the thread from others doing, have done, want to do sugar. Do not be scared off.
CR I personally think you are supersaturated. Your at 25% water with that formula. I have not gone that low but I'm thinking I would have doubled the water. Also CR, Use the wash down method until you really get going. I'm not sure that slow boil generated enough steam to wash.
Just some thoughts.
also: using SS,copper, pot?
what are you using to mix in the adds?

[cakerookie]

I am using a 3 quart ss saucepan. I agree with you Pan I think that slow boil was not quick enough to generate enough steam for a complete wash down. But I also tend to agree with CH in his opening paragraph about boiling impurities right back into the sugar. That is the first time I have used the lid method, something tells me I will not be doing it agian anytime soon. I am using a wooden spoon to mix in the adds. CH I did not put any color into this batch, figured I would give that a try next go around. Pan you threw me with that 25% water thing those baker percentages I don't have down quite yet. I believe the real culprit was the corn syrup. I never had that problem until I added the corn syrup and then everything went south on me today. My last few batches were just water, sugar, and cream of tarter and I had no problem. It's not possible I over pulled it because I never pull it more than 20 times. That usually gives me that silky shine that pulled sugar is known for. Gotta stop this for a while, fingers are a little sore from today. You guys have a good night.

[panini]

CR. sound like you had a learning day. By 25% I mean you had 75% sugar and 25% sugar. I'm usually up arounf 50-50 ( 3 cups sugar--1.5 cups water)
A super saturated solution that doesn't completely disolve will sieze.
I'll pull the specs for sugar on how much non sugars are allowed, you know, like dirt, insect parts and such. You might be surprized. I just use a napkin to sop the impurities. Sort of like you do with flan to remove bubbles.
I'm not a believer in wooden spoons. They are porous and usually retain moisture for a long time after washing.
Pan

[cakerookie]

Hey Pan, would'nt using a napkin introduce impurities into the mixture as well? What would you suggest for stirring? A metal spoon? I know one thing I am going back to my original recipe next time. Think I'll use your idea maybe 3 cups sugar 1 /1/2 cups water and the cream of tarter. What if I cut the corn syrup back to a 1/4 cup? Should I add it at the beggining? This corn syrup thing as got me spooked.

[cakerookie]

CH
What is the best way to go about the design of a sugar piece? How do the pros do it?
Draw it out on cardboard or something. Some kind of outline or form they follow?

[chrose]

Like anything it's best accomplished with a plan. It doesn't have to be anything formal. Get yourself a notebook and a pencil and just start sketching ideas. I have done things from drawings and photos, also just from memory. If you start with a basic idea you can add to it as it progresses. I did a piece once of Winnie the Pooh. I don't recall why, I think I just did. I had a picture from a book and I did a rough sketch. I made a poured base and I worked it from there. I was able to visualize the size Pooh would take and then I just built a wood scene around him as I went. I did a bent tree and then I thought what else do I need. A butterfly on his nose would look cool, so I did a butterfly and attached it to his nose, etc.
You don't really need anything more than a sketch with a rough idea. You just need to be proportional, so if your spatial awareness is a little weak, then trying doing a sketch to scale. Or if you want to do figures, get plastic models to give you an idea of form and size as you're working. Get a book on drawing or sulptures to give you an idea of form and function. It will help.
Remember too that if you like to do pieces with height like you see on the competitions, you're going to need some knowledge of strength and balance.

[cakerookie]

Thanks CH. That helped a lot. But I am no artist when it comes to drawing. Be honest I cannot draw. Might be able to get it look like something but thats about it. One more question. I want to use this piece for the top of a cake. Would it be best to place the piece directly on the icing or use something like a thin poured sugar base on top of the cake? The icing will not be hot just at room temperature.

[chrose]

I would suggest you make a base by crumpling up some foil. Lightly oil an entremet ring or just use a free form that will still fit on top of the cake. Pour your sugar onto the foil. Let it harden. Trim the foil but leave it on the base. That will protect the sugar piece from the cake and give the piece some stability. Also never skimp. What I mean is that don't make the piece too thin, or small. Sugar needs stability and strength. Making pieces thin leads to failure.
On that note, so you're not an artist? Who is? If you can't make a sculpture that looks like ...well....a sculpture! Than do free form work. There is a sugar guy who's world renowned (name escapes me just now, but I'll come up with it eventually) his work is nothing like Ewalds, but his pieces are nothing like Ewalds either and they are magnificent. He was originally an Ice sculpturer and that's where he got a lot of his ideas. Sugar is beautiful in all it's forms. Don't hesitae to exploe the craft, and let your fingers do the talking

[cakerookie]

Thanks CH. You and Pan have been a great inspiration for me since I entered this forum. Thanks a lot.

[cakerookie]

Hey CH or Pan. I got a recipe for poured sugar off the Food Network website last night by Jacques Torres on poured sugar. The only difference I noticed was he used vinegar instead of the usual tartaric acid or cream of tartar. Would'nt vinegar be more of a moisture inhibitor than the other two? Do not know what the difference is but I have a practice piece I am going to work on today I think I will try it and see what happens. I hope to have pics of this one if I don't screw it up. Another thing I noticed was it did not say weather it was distilled vinegar or apple cider vinegar, proably distilled, since apple cider would proably cloud the piece.