Sugar sculpture is the art of producing artistic centerpieces entirely composed of sugar and sugar derivatives. These were very popular at grand feasts from the Renaissance until at least 18th century, and sometimes made by famous artists. Sugar showpieces can be composed of several different type of sugar elements.
All begin with cooking sugar, and possibly an acidic agent and/or non-sucrose sugar product to avoid unwanted crystallization, to the hard crack stage.
When all components are completed, they are welded together using a gas torch. The sugar is melted, and then joined together.
There have few types of sugar sculpture making, such as:
1. Pulled sugar
Pulled sugar is a sugar which has been heated and specially handled so that turns into a glossy and smooth mass. It can be used to make a variety of shapes and ornaments in sugar, such as flowers.
2. Blown sugar
In blown sugar, a portion of pulled sugar is placed on a rubber pump which is tipped with either wood or metal. Pumps are most commonly hand pumps. While being blown, the sugar can be shaped, often into animals or flowers.
Blown sugar cannot be quickly cooled by dipping it in water, so must use fans to cool the sugar, all the while rotating it, so that it does not come out of shape. This technique is very useful in making balloons for wedding cakes.
Here is the China blown sugar making, the artists are using mouth to blown the sugar to make up the shapes like animals. There were one of the China culture sugar making and there not be seen in Malaysia.
3. Cast sugar
Cast sugar is the technique of the sugar is poured into molds. This technique produces sturdies pieces than pulled and blown sugar technique do, and it is almost always used for the base and structural elements of showpieces.
4. Pastillage
Pastillage is a type of sugar-paste icing that dries firm. Like gum paste, it includes sugar, water and a hardening agent and can be molded, shaped by hand or imprinted.
5. Pressed sugar
Granulated sugar is mixed with a minimal amount of water, and is put under pressure. It hardens into a solid piece. Though this is used for showpiece bases, it is less often used because of the time required to produce it, and its lesser aesthetic value.
6. Rock sugar
The liquid sugar is blended with a small amount of royal icing. The heat from the sugar causes the air incorporated in the icing to rapidly expand, causing the mixture to grow to several times its original volume. The mixture is quickly poured into a lined dish, and placed into a blast chiller to set. This process produces a sugar mass with the texture of volcanic pumice, the color of which is determined by the color of the sugar syrup.
7. Spun sugar
Spun sugar is essentially a thicker version of cotton candy. There are a few ways to spin the sugar. Sugar syrup is made into long extremely thin strands which can be shaped to make things like birds' nests. The sugar is gathered on a fork or a special tool designed for spinning sugar and is flicked in long strokes over succeeding pipes.
All of these types of sugar making can be mix and match the techniques together to make out different shaped and textured become a sugar art as sugar sculpture.
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