i just bought some the other day...dont know why, just did....now can someone clarify for me what this is for, and how to use it? i seem to recall that it is for speeding up the drying process of modeled fondant? true...?
if so i need to use it for a cake this weekend, and need some directions...probably small flowers and numbers for a topper on wire.
You can mix it with fondant to make it more like gumpaste. You don't need a lot. You can feel when you have enough in your fondant because when you pull it apart fast it doesn't stretch like fondant does but rather snaps apart.
It will dry much faster and harder then fondant alone but not as fast as gumpaste. So you get the best of both worlds. Easy to work with like fondant but dries nicely like gumpaste.
I hardly ever use straight gumpaste unless I'm making flowers.
It is used in Nicholas Lodge's gumpaste recipe. It is a gum, some recipes call for gum tragacanth, some Tylose powder.
http://www.nicholaslodge.com/gumpaste.htm
wow, people are still awake! thanks for the replies. so, lets say i make numbers w/ the fondant/tylose that are rolled about 1/4" thick, how many days will this take to dry so that it is hard enough to be set up on a cake ? i need to probably attach them before the cake is picked up= will they hold up? i am thinking i should use lollipop sticks instead of wires...last time i had a bad experience with gumpaste on wire while driving to the destination....
I only use wires on my small fondant or gumpaste figures. For items that need a real hold it is best to use lollip sticks or thin wooden skewers. As long as you can hide it with the fondant. Another trick is to put the stick in the item and then pull out let dry and before you assemble add royal icing or roll in melted fondant then place in hole. This helps adhere to the gumpaste. The drying time will depend on your humidity level, i am in the south and it takes awhile to dry. I have other decorator friends that us a food dehydrator for quick turn around.
Wires are best used for stems and smaller projects that do not require a big weight transfer. Well I guess that depends on what guage you use. 
Well you could eat it but you wouldn't want to. Gumpaste does not taste good!
It depends how big your letters are. I just made some last night that were not overly big or thick and they are already dried.
It also depends how much Tylose you mix in with the fondant.
Put a tiny bit of Tylose powder on your tongue, bet you will never think of gumpaste again as edible. All of the ingredients are edible but Tylose turns to instant YUCK on your tongue. I tried it once and had to rush in and brush my teeth and tongue.
Put a tiny bit of Tylose powder on your tongue, bet you will never think of gumpaste again as edible. All of the ingredients are edible but Tylose turns to instant YUCK on your tongue. I tried it once and had to rush in and brush my teeth and tongue.
GROSS! LOL! not that i'd want to eat it, just checking because this cake is for a sweet 16 birthday party, of which i am not staying to cut the cake...so just in case (not likely , but just in case) someone decides to pluck off a flower and pop it in their mouths, they wont die 
so....conclusion....safe and edible, but certainly not tasty!
thanks everyone!
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