{"id":6519,"date":"2019-07-13T17:42:41","date_gmt":"2019-07-13T21:42:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/littleviews-crafts.com\/?p=6519"},"modified":"2019-07-24T10:48:46","modified_gmt":"2019-07-24T14:48:46","slug":"royal-icing-piping-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/littleviews-crafts.com\/royal-icing-piping-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Royal Icing: Working With Metal Piping Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a recreational artist,<\/a> I select my brushes and pens by size to balance the width of a line to its related area.<\/p>\n

The same is true for Royal Icing extruded through a metal piping tip. If the line-mass balance isn’t right between design elements, the result will be tasty, but clumsy. If an extruded line is too thick for the size of a design, that design’s curves and points might not be well executed. If too thin, possibly the curves and points can’t be seen.<\/p>\n

Like with brushes and ink, the best way to determine the extrusion sizes you need is to experiment with decorating tips. (See\u00a0How to Test Royal Icing for Consistency<\/a> as a reference.<\/em>)<\/p>\n

Round Metal Tips Used for Royal Icing<\/span><\/h3>\n

The icing tip sizes you use dictate the balance of your design. Using big tips to outline 5-inch cookies might look great, but if you use that same tip on 3-inch cookies, the result might be clumsy. Small tips produce delicate lines that are stunning on small cookies, but can get lost on big ones.<\/p>\n

The tip size you use also dictates how successfully you flood icing in an area. If your tip is too small for a large area, part of your flooding will crust (harden) before finishing. If it is too large, chances are you’ll pump too much icing into your boundary, overflowing its edges.<\/p>\n

For this article, I tested a range of tip sizes from #3 down to #1, all PME tips. These numbers are comparable to other brands, but hole circumferences between brands differ.<\/p>\n

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To set up the experiment, I traced three nested cutters at 3.3-, 2.2-, and 1.1-inch. I then placed my drawings under a sheet of clear plastic, and proceeded to pipe outlines using each of my tips. (Search for “clear craft plastic<\/em>” on any site that sells craft supplies.<\/em>)<\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> Because of the differences in computer and cell phone monitors, the pictures here are relative to my tracings, but are not displayed as the actual size.<\/p>\n

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To begin the experiment, I piped a straight line using each one of my piping tips.<\/p>\n

Immediately, I could see the greatest similarities were between tip #3 and #2.5, tip #2 and #1.5, and then #1 alone.<\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> Use a pasteurized or whole egg white Royal Icing recipe<\/a>, possibly with a dash of corn syrup, when working with very small tips to reduce the chance of clogging. Further experimentation is up to you.<\/p>\n

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Two Piping-bag System<\/span><\/h3>\n

To save time when working with multiple tips, I use a disposable piping bag fitted with a tip coupler to hold the tip. Royal Icing goes into a second bag which fits inside of the first. The photo below shows the two bags side-by-side. Cut the tip off the second bag and fit the bag into the first. This process usually leaves the outer bag fairly clean.<\/p>\n

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A benefit to using a two-bag system is that if there is a time-lag between piping tasks, you can prevent the icing from drying out by removing the inner bag and sealing the opening by folding and clipping. You can also remove, wash, and return the tip on the outer bag, thus eliminating piping bag and icing waste.<\/p>\n

Examples of Royal Icing Extrusion Sizes<\/span><\/h3>\n

The following pictures show the results of outlining a 3.3-inch pattern using a #3 and #2 tip, with the difference between them obvious. The thicker one would be great for creating a dam in which to flood icing, and the thinner one would look more interesting on an already flooded surface.<\/p>\n

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Smaller perimeters also require different tip considerations:<\/p>\n