Hi everyone. Just wondering what I can do to harden gum paste. I'm going to make long thin shapes out of gum paste but I would like it to harden really well if possible. What can I do to achieve this? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Edit: Actually, I guess what I should be asking is what can I do so that it hardens faster, because I'm a bit pressed for time.

Just leave it to airdry. Gumpaste will dry hard.


Stephanie

Gumpaste needs nothing added or done to it in order to harden completely. You will likely find your long thin strips will be near brittle once they have dried for 24 to 48 hours. Be careful handling your gumpaste pieces once they are dried.
Hope this helps

Gumpaste needs nothing added or done to it in order to harden completely. You will likely find your long thin strips will be near brittle once they have dried for 24 to 48 hours. Be careful handling your gumpaste pieces once they are dried.
Hope this helps

You can put a fan on it to rush the process.

I don't know if this is right or not LOL! but I put mine in the oven on a very low temp (I can't remember what......maybe 175-200) on a cooling rack, and it did definitely dry faster than when I let it air dry.

Word of caution if you try this though; DON'T try to pick it up to check on it, the outsides will seem very dry but the inside gets quite soft from the heat (and it gets hot too). Just leave it alone and make sure it doesn't burn. I think I left mine in for a couple of hours. I've only done this for bow loops, so I don't know how well it would work for thicker items. HTH!

Get a dehydrator and put the gumpaste pieces in the trys. The paste dries twice as fast.

Put is oven by a pilot light (If you use gas.

Set the paste in front of a fan.

I have put mine in an oven with the light on. Just the light bulb alone gives enough heat to speed up the drying process

If you're making your own GP, if you add extra gum (I use Tylose) it usually dries faster than if you use the recommended amount. don't know if that will help you ad this stage of the game, but you can always just knead some in before you make your shapes.

What I do is I get a small table lamp and get a cooling rack and lay the piece that needs drying on it. I then place the rack on top of the lamp shade for about 30 minutes or so if its thin like #'s or letters.

How long do you put it in the dehydrator for?

I've dried pieces on a bed of cornstarch, with a fan, and also under a desk lamp.