So i'm wanting to try the michele foster fondant... i went to walmart on my lunch break and the only thing that said "glycerin" on it, .... well.... it was intended to be shoved where the sun don't shine. SURELY that's not what i'm supposed to be looking for??? when asked how i made the fondant, i'd sure hate to have to include suppository in the ingredients list... doesn't quite roll off the tongue ... EWWWWWW


sorry, i'm obviously a bit unadvanced in the cake world. i've only done BC and MMF

thanks for your help! (don't embarrass me too badly )

Uh, no. You don't put that glycerin in food.

You buy food grade glycerin:

http://www.steviasmart.com/glfoga4obo.html

You were in the right department, just the wrong aisle, lol. I found glycerin near the band-aids in the Walmart pharmacy section. I used it in MFF and it turned out just fine.

Go to a cake supply or in the cake area of Michael's/Hobby Lobby - and get food-grade glycerin. Just to make sure ONLY "FOOD GRADE"...

I haven't used any yet, but I know in painting, glycerin is used as an 'extender' to make the paint stay workable longer.

Good luck and welcome to the cake world - it's addictive and delicious!!!

Glycerin for food is made directly from vegetables (quite often coconut oil), non food safe glycerin is a byproduct from soap making.

I was told by my pharmacist that the only glycerin she could order wasn't anything I could use for making fondant. She had three different choices on her order form and they all had an additive of some sort. If the ingredient label list anything other than 100% pure glycerin then it isn't food grade glycerin. Poohsmomma..did the glycerin that you bought list 99% glycerin and 1% anhydrous? That's what the one next to the band-aides in my Wal- Mart says...if so it's not food grade glycerin.

Your local health food stores carry glycerin as a natural sweetener. Much cheaper than buying the little tiny bottles from Wilton.

You can buy small bottles of glycerin in the cake aisle at the craft store. You can buy bigger bottles of food-quality glycerin at the health food store. It's sometimes used as a sweetener.

The only kind of glycerin I've seen at Walmart in the first aid section was a skin protectant and it was 99 percent glycerin and 1 percent something else...can't remember what the something else was, but it wasn't edible.

M Fosters fondant is fantastic you'll love it!

just find Wilton glycerin in the cake supply aisle at Michaels, Wal Mart, ect.

thanks for the tip on getting it in larger bottles in a health food store, I would have never thought of that... Those small ones work, but I go through them so fast.

Are you sure that anhydrous was the other ingredient? I looked it up and that word means "without water" adjective Chemistry .
with all water removed, esp. water of crystallization.

Just curious, everything I have read says that if you can buy the glycerine in a market, it's food safe. If you need a special permit and buy it in barrel, it's not the food safe kind. I have purchased the kind at walmart and used it with no ill effects.

Do does that mean it's still food safe?

I get my glycerin at really good prices off of ebay. Just search for Food Grade of Vegetable Glycerin. I buy it by the gallon for $35.75 with free shipping.
Ebay Listing:
Vegetable Glycerin
Glycerin
Vegetable based
All Natural
Highest Quality Available
Kosher
INCI:GLYCERIN
Also Known as Glycerine, Glycerol
1 Gallon
* Free Shipping to MOST Locations via UPS Ground.

According to your pharmacist, what is Anhydrous? Is it a different chemical that makes it not food safe? Or does that just mean it doesn't have water, which wouldn't affect it's food safe-ness. Not trying to start a fight, just playing devils advocate. Wouldn't it be better for you if you found out you could use the larger bottle and save some money for the same product?

If you can buy it in the pharmacy, it is USP (United States Pharmacopeia) grade which is NOT the same as food grade. However, the specifications of USP grade and food grade are very similar. USP grade glycerin is used in cough syrups, etc. so it's not harmful if ingested. For anyone who wants further details, I would recommend looking at the USP Glycerin Monograph and the Food Chemicals Codex for more in-depth clarification.

Edit: A quick Google search informs me that some people find that synthetic (pharmaceutical grade) glycerin makes them nauseous. Others have used it with no problems. Might just be a sensitivity or allergy in some.

I just use the glycerin from the drug store. It is the pharmacy grade, not the food grade. You only use a small amount in a batch of fondant. Of course, I'm a hobby baker, not a seller, so I don't worry about it as much. If anyone ever offered to buy me some food grade glycerin, I would happily use it, but since I pay for everything, they get what they get. No one has ever said they've had a problem from it. I suppose anyone who has eaten a cake of mine has eaten more chapstick off their lips than glycerin from my fondant.