209 Bellagio Circle, Sanford FL 32771
Monday 12:00-5:30
Tuesday - Friday 10:30-6:30
Saturday 10:30-4:30
Sundays
and Major Holidays
CLOSED
Tragacanth is the real thing! A little diffrent from CMC or Tylos.
Tragacanth is a substance which is derived from the sap of a plant. The sap is drained from the root of the plant and then dried. This forms a powder which doesn’t taste of anything, but is ideal for thickening up fondant.
As Tragacanth is a natural product, I regard it is the “real thing” and we use it in all our modelling work.
What is CMC?
CMC stands for or Carboxymethyl cellulose. In short, it is the chemical version of Tragacanth. It looks exactly the same. CMC tends to work a little bit faster than gum tragacanth and is also a little bit cheaper as it is a chemical version of the real thing.
What isTylose powder?
This is a brand name for CMC so is effectively the same thing as CMC. It works in the same way and is again a chemical version. It is usually again cheaper than Gum Tragacanth due to its chemical nature.
What are they for?
In essence, they all do the same job. They can be added to fondant in order to make it easier to model with. They also make it dry more quickly. Tragacanth is said to take longer to start working but we find that you can usually use it within 30 minutes of adding it to the fondant in quantities less than 250 grams. Some people advise leaving it up to 12 hours but we find it too hard to work with if in small quantities of less than 250 grams because it becomes hard and you need to re-kneed it.
How much should you add?
We work with Tragacanth and add 1 teaspoon to every 250 grams (a small packet) of fondant. You can add the same proportions to CMC and Tylose powder. If you want your fondant to be softer and not dry so quickly, you can add less powder (ie 1 teaspoon per 500 grams CMC).
At what point do you add it?
It is recommended that you add the Tragacanth (or CMC/Tylose) right at the beginning prior to adding any colour paste to the fondant.
We're in constant contact with the industry's top professional cake designers, sugar artist, industry innovators, and trendsetters. We're on a mission to become the leading experts in cake and sugar art design.
Why are we unique? We do not hold back, and want to share our passion and knowledge with you. From conception and product recommendation to execution, we will help you bring life to your designs.
We seek and set trends — a reputation we've worked hard to earn and continually strive to maintain.
The Sweet Chalet isn't simply a store, we're you best friend in the pastry and sugar art world.
Maressa Valentin
Owner
I started my catering business 29 years ago, and enjoyed every minute of it. But my biggest passion was the pastry side of the business. Back then, I saw how many of my friends and people that I knew struggled in being able to purchase many of the professional products and bakeware that I was privileged to use. I wanted to find a way to not only sell professional products, but also teach the customers on how to use them and show them new trends within the sugar art world.
in 1995, my family and I relocated to Cleveland Ohio. We spent several years there while my frustration on finding good products and ingredients continued until my husband was relocated again. This time, we moved to central Florida in 2000. It was here where I learned that there was such a thing as the "Cottage Law", which gave me an opportunity to jump start a pastry business from home while taking care of my kids.
Inspired by the new trends in this industry, the need to share my latin flavors and my passion to teach people on how to do their own masterpieces, The Sweet Chalet was established and opened it's doors in the spring of 2016.
Since then, we have been blessed to have had such a wonderful acceptance within our community. We have made a huge splashin the local market and the cake decorating industry. Now, we're making global waves with our online distribution.
Welcome to The Sweet Chalet, we're glad you're here.
209 Bellagio Circle, Sanford FL 32771
Monday 12:00-5:30
Tuesday - Friday 10:30-6:30
Saturday 10:30-4:30
Sundays
and Major Holidays
CLOSED