Saracino Modelling Paste and Modelling Chocolate can be used for the same purposes, but are two very different products.
The modelling chocolate (white, dark or coloured), is chocolate with the addition of syrups to make it softer and more malleable. Being 80% pure chocolate (white or dark), the taste and aroma are intense and typical of cocoa. This is the main reason that it is sometimes preferred over sugar paste, whose taste of vanilla or almond is added later by flavourings.
Modelling chocolate is mainly used for the creation of decorations such as flowers, figurines and characters.
It is used less for covering cakes, basically because of the intrinsic characteristics of chocolate, it tends to harden and form a hard and difficult to cut covering.
Sugar paste, as you know, differs between modelling paste and cover paste . Our Modelling Paste has a recipe opposite to that of modelling chocolate, that is, we start with a base of sugars and syrups (about 80%) and we add cocoa butter, or oil extracted from cocoa.
Unlike modelling paste the plastic chocolate requires more care and attention to variations in temperature. In fact, in very hot environments, modelling chocolate can melt and become too soft and difficult to work with. Nevertheless, if you become familiar with the product and accept its limits, it becomes a fabulous weapon in the skilled hands of a cake artist.
And indeed, what does a skilled cake artist often do? Use modelling chocolate in the colder seasons and Modelling Paste in the warmer ones, in order to avoid surprises.
Over a number of years we have developed a very special recipe for modelling chocolate: we have added starches that delay the process of melting and sugars that give greater elasticity and resistance. In this way you can work the chocolate longer and without waiting every 5 minutes for it to cool before you can use it again.
Another important difference compared to other modelling chocolates on the market concerns the choice of the raw material. The difference between the various chocolates on the market must not be underestimated: there are some that are not very fragrant, but very resistant, others with a softer colour, others richer in sugar or with a less intense flavour.
There are various types of dark and white chocolate. Saracino have tested at least 10 different types of chocolate before choosing the one that gave us the best results in terms of durability and taste!
Another difference is the cost: obviously modelling chocolate, due to the ingredients, is more expensive than sugar paste.
Being used for decorations that very often have only a role to seal the cake, many prefer to turn to cheaper products. But be careful, often the decorations are the first thing that are tasted and if you can amaze a customer with a chocolate flower or similar this will make you even more appreciated and respected in the eyes (and the palate) of the consumer.
