Ukami silicone molds

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:45

The invention of silicone has become a real godsend for hostesses. After all, excellent kitchen tools, potholders, brushes and a host of other useful devices such as oven mats are made from this material, which perfectly replace parchment paper for baking. However, modern needlewomen appreciated silicone molds most of all, with which you can easily create figurines for decorating cakes, fancy-shaped soap, and candles. What is the peculiarity of molds? What types exist? Can I make them myself?

Silicone molds: what is it

Silicone molds are special molds for obtaining the necessary impressions from various materials. Outwardly, they resemble molds from children's sets. Due to the strength and ductility of silicone, they are used to produce not only flat bas-reliefs, but also three-dimensional three-dimensional figures.

In cookingmost commonly used silicone molds for mastic, marzipan, jelly, caramel and chocolate. In addition, molds are used to make candles, curly soaps, plaster figurines, epoxy resin and polymer clay products.

Types of silicone molds

Due to the versatility of use and ease of production, today silicone molds of almost any shape are available for purchase. However, they differ in just a few parameters.

First of all, molds differ in the material from which they are made. In their production, both food grade silicone and non-food grade silicone are used. Forms made of food material are always more expensive. The scope of their application is almost unlimited: they can be used not only for the manufacture of chocolate figurines, but also figured soap. But cheaper molds (made of industrial silicone) are only designed to work with non-food materials.

Molds are used in the manufacture of both one-sided figures and three-dimensional products.

Silicone molds are also divided into solid and collapsible (consisting of several interconnected elements).

There is also a special type of mold - weiner. These molds are made from a harder rubber-like silicone. Their purpose is to create textures. As a rule, veiners consist of two parts, between which a sheet of mastic or foamiran is clamped to give it the desired texture.

Advantages of molds fromsilicone over other shapes

In addition to silicone molds, there are many other interesting devices on the confectioner's market. Namely: plastic plungers, metal molds for cookies or dough, confectionery syringes with specialized nozzles, plastic or wooden rolling pins to add texture to the mastic, and more.

Despite the convenience of all these tools, silicone molds for mastic are superior in most respects.

The fact is that unlike other tools, silicone is not afraid of cold, heat, does not break, does not rust, is easy to clean, well transported and takes up little space in the kitchen. Thanks to its softness, finished products can be easily removed from it.

How to use silicone molds

Despite the variety of silicone impression molds, the way they are used is the same:

1. Before use, you need to make sure that the mold is clean and dry, because if there is moisture in it, voids may form in its place and then the resulting print will be defective.
2. Before use, the inner surface of the mold must be lubricated to make it easier to get the finished impression. If the mold is used for the manufacture of food products, edible fat is suitable as a lubricant. Vaseline is used for inedible materials. If the weiner is used when working with foamiran, there is no need to lubricate it.
3. The residence time of a substance in the form depends on its type. If this is mastic, then the mold with it should be placed for 5-15 minutes infreezer to let the print harden. After the lapse of time, carefully remove the finished product and continue working with it. If molds are used to make chocolate figures, candles, epoxy or plaster products, the print needs several hours to harden. The hardening time of each material is indicated separately on the accompanying instructions for it.

Do-it-yourself silicone molds: what they can be made of

Since handicrafts are usually done by creative people in their free time, at some point they will definitely want to not only use ready-made molds, but create an original form for imprinting.

For such cases, there is a special silicone paste on sale that can be used to make molds. For the manufacture of food molds, dental silicone pastes for impressions are also used. Unfortunately, all these materials are quite expensive, so many needlewomen try to make forms from improvised means.

The main component from which craftsmen make molds is a technical silicone sealant sold in hardware stores. In some cases, one of the types of polymer clay is taken instead.

Molds made from such materials are, of course, worse than factory ones, but they are great for making molds. At the same time, everyone should remember that do-it-yourself silicone molds for mastic from technical silicone or polymer clay cannot be made: these materials are toxic.

The only non-specialized material you can try for culinary molds is gelatin. It is mixed in equal proportions with glycerin and this mass is boiled in a water bath, after which the desired object is poured with it. The resulting gelatin mold is very plastic, and it can be used for food products. However, unlike silicone and clay molds, gelatin molds are afraid of rising temperatures and begin to melt.

Do-it-yourself silicone molds: a master class from improvised means

After it became clear from what materials do-it-yourself molds are most often created, it is worth seeing how it is done.

In order to make a mold at home, you will need a package of technical silicone, starch (potato or corn) and items that will serve as a template for the future mold.

1. First of all, the place of work is being prepared. It must be a clean, level, dry surface. For example, a table covered with film or parchment paper.
2. The required amount of starch is poured onto the table. Then the same amount of silicone is added to it.
3. From these two components you need to knead the silicone "dough". This will take 10-15 minutes. The kneading process should not be delayed, as the silicone quickly hardens in contact with air, especially warm air.
4. The finished “dough” needs to be rolled out, but not very thinly. Objects for impressions are pressed into the rolled circles and left in this form for several hours. And better for the whole night.
5. After this period, the necessaryitems and mold is ready. A blank is molded from silicone directly in the same water. It is taken out of the water and the silicone is pressed into the object to be imprinted. Then they leave it for several hours - and then according to the above scenario. American manufacturers, when making silicone molds, process the material in a different way. Instead of kneading the “dough” with starch, silicone is squeezed into water with a glycerin-containing detergent abundantly dissolved in it.

Having considered the various ways to create molds, you can now use the knowledge gained in practice, choosing the method of your choice.