How to make Gum Glue

There is really no right or wrong way of making gum glue. There is always one question one has to ask before making gum glue, 'What is the purpose of the gum glue?'. It is the usage and the strength of the glue we are emphasizing at. Below is a brief write-up from my experience of making my own gum glue from the common cake decorator's medium. Hope you will find this useful.


1. Water - I would use this for fondant cut-outs or decorations where most of the parts will be laid on a surface, e.g. cake or cake board, i.e. a flat secured surface to sustain the weight of the decoration. I would use water for sticking my fondant drapes too when I am lazy to mix gum glue but please do not risk it if your drapes are flowing down from a 3-4 storeys high wedding cake . Take note that decoration adhered with water will take longer time to dry but it doesn't seem to be a serious problem if your decorations are going to dry in an air-conditioned room.

2. Vanila/almond/butter extract (colorless only please) - Decorations adhered with extract will dry faster than they were to be sticked with water. Extract evaporates even at room temperature hence the higher drying rate. I would use this for smaller gumpaste (gp) flowers but not large ones as it is still considered watery compared to the glues below. Take note that decorations glued with extract will have that nice aroma.

3. Gum glue made of Meringue powder - Mix 1 tsp meringue powder to 2 tsp water.

4. Gum glue made of gum paste - Mix gumpaste (gp) of the size of a pea to 1 tbsp of water. If you are not desperate, dissolve and let rest for 1 hour. Microwave for 10 second intervals if you are desperate. The gum is ready to be used even if there are still some lumps present. The lumps will eventually dissolve completely. This is a strong glue for gp flowers and figurines.

5. Gum glue made of CMC or Tylose - Mix 1 tsp CMC or Tylose to 3-4 tbsp water. If you are not desperate, dissolve and let rest for 1 hour. Microwave for 10 second intervals if you are desperate. The gum is ready to be used even if there are still some lumps present. The lumps will eventually dissolve completely. This is a strong glue for gp flowers and figurines.

The strength of the glues increases with the numbers, (5) being the strongest. But again, it depends how concentrate you make your glue to be. For example in (4), increase the amount of gp if you need the glue to be stronger but not to the extense where it is too lumpy to be usable.

Hope the above helps .

Thanks for the detailed write-up, Jo, it sure is helpful

does cornstarch glue work?

very very helpful indeed .....

Just wondering ..why do we have to allow an hour rest for 4 and 5?

Tks

Hi Lyza, it takes a while for the lump of gumpaste and the CMC to fully dissolve into water. So just rest them to let them dissolve completely before use.

Hmmm...... haven't come acoss cornstarch glue though. Maybe some of you could share if you have tried making this glue.