Do You Find It Cheaper To Make Fondant?
Decorating By kellertur Updated 3 Feb 2010 , 6:58pm by jardot22
Alot of people say it is cheaper to make homemade but for me personally it is more expensive to make 1kg of homemade MMF compared to 1kg store bought.
That is only because i can't just buy a packet of just white marshmallows so have to buy a packet of pink and white thus need to buy double what i need cose half the packet is pink that need to be taken out.
If i just had white marshmallows then it would probably be equal price or a tiny bit cheaper..........it all comes down to what stuff costs in different places and what homemade fondant recipe you use i guess
For me it is alot cheaper to make my own. I always use MFF.
I make my own using the recipe from The Cake Bible (I never had luck with MFF), and it costs me $3.50 in ingredients alone to make 2.5 lbs of fondant. And really, the hardest part about making my own is weighing all the ingredients.
It costs me $3.50 to make 3lbs of MMF.
Have you tried buying glycerin at the health food store? And shopping around for gelatin, if those are your most expensive ingredients? At the health food store here you can get 16 oz food grade glycerin for $8 which is about half what the tiny Wilton bottles cost by ounce.
It costs me about $10 to make 5 pounds of MFF (even using PURE clear vanilla from Mexico instead of cream or milk), whereas buying 5 pounds just cost me $40.
Elise, what exactly are the costs of your ingredients???? Is there somewhere else for you to buy your ingredients???
for me it's less expensive. I make MFF plus the ingredients I try to have on hand at all times.
Is there somewhere else for you to buy your ingredients???
Well the price of $9 of ingredients per 2.5lb of fondant is based on buying local ingredients i can get from the supermarkets with the better quality ingredients. I tried making it with cheaper marshmallows once but it ended up like a stretchy elastic ball that wouldn't roll out as it keep snapping back into it's ball shape...weird 
so therefore i decided to buy the tiny bit more expensive marshmallows and just pick out the pink ones in the packet lol
I could go around looking for just white marshmallows for cheaper but it would be a hassel and i really don't trust them after the other experience, but the ones i use at the moment are vanilla flavoured and yum and really great to work with so i end up having to pay that bit more to get a decent MMF
To me "TIME IS MONEY". So in the end it wasn't worth it.
It would take me a while to mix the fondant and then a longer time having to clean everything that had sticky MMF on it.
I have been buying SI for a while and am now in love with it. It was not love at first. I guess I was use to my MMF.
To me "TIME IS MONEY". So in the end it wasn't worth it.
It would take me a while to mix the fondant and then a longer time having to clean everything that had sticky MMF on it.
I have been buying SI for a while and am now in love with it. It was not love at first. I guess I was use to my MMF.
I totally agree Cristy! Especially when it comes to coloring it. With SI, I don't have to worry about the coloring factor and that, for me, is a HUGE deal. Time is money. I do from time to time make Michele Foster's fondant in a pinch when I run out of white and it works just fine but I am a 100% Satin Ice fan. Once you get used to working with it, it's just easy. But it does take some time to fall in love with it. Working with the darker colors can be a bit of a challenge at first but all in all, it's the best for me personally.
It cost me $7 to make 4 1/2 lbs of MFF, way cheaper to make my own, it is quick and easy and I can custom color it any way I want. I make batches of it in my down time, it keeps for awhile.
I agree with pattycakes.....I make it in just a few minutes (maybe 15 min.??) No time at all - and it costs me $3. to make 3 lb. No where near the price of pre-made (and I use that as a selling point, it is NOT already made, I make it fresh for your cake!!) 
I guess it all comes down to how much the ingredients cost each person. It is WAY cheaper for me to make MFF than it is to buy fondant, and it doesn't take hardly any time - I don't have to look at Michele's recipe anymore, I have it memorized now! She gave it to me about 6 years ago and have been using it ever since lol!
It is much cheaper to make your own I use MMF and by my glycerin from CVS it cost $3.99 for 6oz (if you are buying wiltons...... it is way more per oz. I have tried many other recipes and had no luck... I just did my first fully fondant cake and it was a HUGE sucess with MMF(Michelle Fosters recipe). I also love that I can control what the flavor taste like... I use those little luanne flavors just a few drops and BAM... HUge flavor!!!
Good lord, what recipes are y'all using???
It costs me less than $3 in ingredients to make 3.5 pounds of MMF using T's marshmallow fondant and I love it! It is sooo easy to make too - my dough hook in the KA does almost all the kneading - I barely knead it for more than a minute or two by hand before it's good to go. And it tastes so yummy too.
I think sometimes it comes down to whether you are a hobbyist or a professional producing one cake on a semi-regular basis (hobbyist) or multiple cakes a week (pro). I am a hobbyist and buying fondant is expensive. I cannot get the larger tubs around my neck of the woods so they have to be ordered. Factor in postage and wow, this becomes an expensive hobby! I make quality fondant for very little money and can, therefore, maintain my creativity while being cost conscience. I realize for professional bakers, the Economics term, "Opportunity Cost" comes into play for them. It is a time saver to open a tub of premade fondant vs. the time it takes to make it in quantity. Time is money when they are factoring the total cost of their cakes.
It costs me about $10 to make 5 pounds of MFF (even using PURE clear vanilla from Mexico instead of cream or milk), whereas buying 5 pounds just cost me $40.
Elise, what exactly are the costs of your ingredients???? Is there somewhere else for you to buy your ingredients???
Same here.. costs about 1/4 of the price to make it. But I just use water, marshmallows and icing sugar in my MMF. And that's using the highest quality ingredients. I often will buy red Satin Ice if I'm feeling lazy. Although Satin Ice is tasty, I still prefer MMF!
Your ingredients must be insanely expensive!
I make my own using the recipe from The Cake Bible (I never had luck with MFF), and it costs me $3.50 in ingredients alone to make 2.5 lbs of fondant. And really, the hardest part about making my own is weighing all the ingredients.
I also use the Cake Bible recipe, but I don't weigh anything. I use a 2 lb bag of Domino powdered sugar and just measure the rest of the ingredients. It works well for me.
I think sometimes it comes down to whether you are a hobbyist or a professional producing one cake on a semi-regular basis (hobbyist) or multiple cakes a week (pro). I am a hobbyist and buying fondant is expensive. I cannot get the larger tubs around my neck of the woods so they have to be ordered. Factor in postage and
wow, this becomes an expensive hobby! I make quality fondant for very little money and can, therefore, maintain my creativity while being cost conscience. I realize for professional bakers, the Economics term, "Opportunity Cost" comes into play for them. It is a time saver to open a tub of premade fondant vs. the time it takes to make it in quantity. Time is money when they are factoring the total cost of their cakes.
From reading the posts I think it might actually come down to whether the decorator lives in the US or not. The costs of marshmallows and other ingredients seem to be much more expensive in other countries.
I make my own using the recipe from The Cake Bible (I never had luck with MFF), and it costs me $3.50 in ingredients alone to make 2.5 lbs of fondant. And really, the hardest part about making my own is weighing all the ingredients.
I also use the Cake Bible recipe, but I don't weigh anything. I use a 2 lb bag of Domino powdered sugar and just measure the rest of the ingredients. It works well for me.
I know, but the food scientist part of me insists that I MUST weigh everything out (except for the powdered sugar - I use the 2 lb bag, too).
I do find that gelatin volumes differ depending on brand, so I always weigh it.
I think sometimes it comes down to whether you are a hobbyist or a professional producing one cake on a semi-regular basis (hobbyist) or multiple cakes a week (pro). I am a hobbyist and buying fondant is expensive. I cannot get the larger tubs around my neck of the woods so they have to be ordered. Factor in postage and
wow, this becomes an expensive hobby! I make quality fondant for very little money and can, therefore, maintain my creativity while being cost conscience. I realize for professional bakers, the Economics term, "Opportunity Cost" comes into play for them. It is a time saver to open a tub of premade fondant vs. the time it takes to make it in quantity. Time is money when they are factoring the total cost of their cakes.From reading the posts I think it might actually come down to whether the decorator lives in the US or not. The costs of marshmallows and other ingredients seem to be much more expensive in other countries.
Agreed!
One of the reasons I can keep my cost down is the convenience of Sam's 7lb bag of 10x powdered sugar... a little over $4.00, it is the best bargain and great quality to boot! Truly, when one reads the cost of living in other countries it makes our economic situation pale in comparison.
One of the reasons I can keep my cost down is the convenience of Sam's 7lb bag of 10x powdered sugar... a little over $4.00, it is the best bargain and great quality to boot! [/quote]
I buy that too! LOTS cheaper than buying the 2 pound bags at the grocery store.
I think sometimes it comes down to whether you are a hobbyist or a professional producing one cake on a semi-regular basis (hobbyist) or multiple cakes a week (pro). I am a hobbyist and buying fondant is expensive. I cannot get the larger tubs around my neck of the woods so they have to be ordered. Factor in postage and
wow, this becomes an expensive hobby! I make quality fondant for very little money and can, therefore, maintain my creativity while being cost conscience. I realize for professional bakers, the Economics term, "Opportunity Cost" comes into play for them. It is a time saver to open a tub of premade fondant vs. the time it takes to make it in quantity. Time is money when they are factoring the total cost of their cakes.From reading the posts I think it might actually come down to whether the decorator lives in the US or not. The costs of marshmallows and other ingredients seem to be much more expensive in other countries.
Agreed! One of the reasons I can keep my cost down is the convenience of Sam's 7lb bag of 10x powdered sugar... a little over $4.00, it is the best bargain and great quality to boot! Truly, when one reads the cost of living in other countries it makes our economic situation pale in comparison.
It is so true. I live in Canada and I regularly drive down to the States to buy my groceries and clothes. Cheaper and better variety in the States as compared to here. Plus I lived 2 years in Mass. and got spoiled with American shopping....
I agree with pattycakes.....I make it in just a few minutes (maybe 15 min.??) No time at all - and it costs me $3. to make 3 lb. No where near the price of pre-made (and I use that as a selling point, it is NOT already made, I make it fresh for your cake!!)
I agree with you, it takes no time to make it (but I don't use marshmallows,I don't know how that affects the time.) and it's a lot cheaper. If you use the confectioner's sugar recipe you can do 8 pounds of sugar in a BIG bowl, 1 cup cold water with 4 packets gelatin bloomed in it, then melted over water and add 1 full bottle of corn syrup and 1- 2oz bottle of glycerine added in and stirred to melt, then pour the liquid into the sugar and mix it up. No weighing, no measuring except for the cup of water. The worst part is washing the bowl afterward 
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