Pulled & Blown Sugar

For pulled sugar, sugar syrup is boiled to the hard-crack stage, sometimes colored with food coloring, and then poured on to a lightly oiled marble slab. While still very hot, it is folded and pulled repeatedly by hand until it becomes shiny and pliable enough to be shaped into ribbons or flower petals. For blown sugar, the sugar syrup is boiled in the same way and worked briefly until smooth. Then a tube is inserted in the mass of sugar and air is blown in. As the sugar expands, it is molded into fruits, animals or other shapes. Gum paste (Fr. pastillage) is another decorative sugar substance, most often used by professional chefs for modelling. The ingredients include confectioners’ sugar, cornstarch, gum tragacanth and water. It is not edible.