"JMF" wrote in message ...
I made spun sugar for the first time today. No problem with everything up to
the final step: taking the strands of spun sugar hanging down and "molding
them into an interesting shape." The recipes talk about making a net, or a
halo, or all kinds of other cool things.

Except when I gather up the strands, I tend to end up with a big mess.

It occurs to me that some of you might have developed some skill with this
and might have a few tips up your sleeve on how to gather up the strands
skillfully and make the shapes. Anybody have any ideas or recommendations on
this?


In my experience in patisserrie while working in a hotel several
years back..... Whenever I make a plated dessert I use spun sugar with
dark chocolate curls as decorative agent. I just collect a enough
fibers of the spun sugar and form it into a nest ( or just a halo)
where I will place a sorbet, a panna cotta, or any variety of
unmolded fruit mousse in the center and drip some suitable sauce
around the plate to complement i the dessert and add color. I also
draw a pattern on the sauce with piped chocolate and create a spider
web , leaf ,fern ,shrub or any ornate pattern to enhance the dessert.
I also create a spiral of sugar with a cylinder or wafer type cookie.
and let it set. which I also use as decoration. There are many types
of decors that you can make with spun sugar.
.. I never had this problem with the mess,
I also give a space when I spun the thick syrup with the standard
spun sugar spinner which is purchased from the cake shop.
It was like a comb contraption ( with wire nails evenly spaced which
when I dip into the syrup I raise it high and colllect the sugar
strands by coiling it in my hands. in small loops , which I place in
sllicone paper. I repeat the procedure until all the s syrup is being
used.

I suggest you buy that device suited for spun sugar spinning. and you
will end up with an evenly spaced strands. which are easier to collect
and form to shapes.
And please do not spin all the sugar at once but in small portion so
that you can form the desired coil or halo thickness.
Keep the syrup in fluid condtions( or hot) while you continue to form
strands.
Roy