Humidity is the amount of moisture in the air. In terms of decorating, the humidity inside of your work place is even more pertinent than climate aspects. Use a hygrometer to measure humidity (available in home stores or thru SugarVeil on Amazon.com): A reading above 50% humidity is ‘Wet” (meaning humid). Humidity adds moisture to SugarVeil which affects how you design the decorated cakes as well as how you handle the decorations.
The following are lesser-realized influences which increase humidity around your work area:
Pots of soup boiling on a stove
Water running to wash dishes
Wet towels/clothes hanging in proximity
Proximity to ocean, lakes, or bodies of water
1. Follow the oven-setting instructions here
2. Rebeat SugarVeil directly before piping, stenciling, or spreading onto Confectionery Mats. It should be white-white with a sheen. Anything less than this denotes the icing needs to be remixed for a minute or so.
2. Design your cake so the SugarVeil decorations are supported by the cake. Don't have delicate lace suspended or hanging off of the edge of a cake. A few photo examples of good designs for humid conditions are below. When making bows (or any decoration which is not flat on the cake) let them dry completely in a food dehydrator or low temp oven before placing onto the cake. A finger smear of chocolate or 'candy melts' inside the bow will help keep its 3D loft, and gumpaste, royal icing, and pastillage work wonderfully as structures to which SugarVeil can be attached and supported.
3. When removing the SugarVeil from the mat or parchment, dust your fingers with corn or potato starch. You can even lightly dust the decorations for easier handling. If not directly placing the set decorations onto a cake, store the decorations between parchment sheets in a zipped bag to keep out the humidity.
4. Work in the driest area you have - use a humidity gauge to determine the driest place within your work area. Dry out the surrounding air with a de-humidifier, or simply, with heat - turn on a nearby oven, work in sunlight, and/or use a fan to evaporate the moisture in the air.
Completely dry decorations may be rehydrated in humid conditions. Place the decorations onto greased parchment and allow them to absorb the ambient humidity to become flexible again for placing onto the cake.
Another tip: one Master Decorator seals SugarVeil pieces by spraying them with edible shellac (the kind used to spray chocolate). By doing this, decorations can remain flexible for even months, as the surface of the decorations is sealed and blocks further moisture being absorbed by the pieces.