SCan you work with caramel or isomalt without a heat lamp? The correct answer would be ” yes, ” but there is a big difference between using one and not, and that’s what I’m going to explain in this article.
A basic, specialized heat lamp for working with isomalt is very expensive, not to say extremely expensive; it costs around €600, which means that not everyone is willing to make such an investment unless you work professionally in the candy industry.
I scared you, didn’t I? But don’t worry, I have good news. There’s another option. I’ll start by telling you what the heat lamp actually does and how important it is.
Heat lamp
The heat lamp’s function is to keep the isomalt at the temperature you need for your decorating project. It’s that simple.
The most important part of the lamp is the bulb, as it is what provides us with that temperature maintenance.
It’s not an ordinary light bulb; it’s a special one. It’s a 250W infrared bulb. You’ve probably seen this type of bulb used by physiotherapists, for example, to apply heat to a specific area of the body. The difference is that the ones physiotherapists use are usually 80-100W, and the one we need for the candy is 250W.
There are two types of light bulbs, red and white. The type of heat and function are exactly the same, although I personally prefer working with white ones because they are less tiring on the eyes and distort the color of the isomalt you are working on less.
As I mentioned, and I want to repeat it to make sure everyone understands, the lamp’s function is to maintain the temperature, not to heat it. To heat it, we would use a microwave or a saucepan with a hot plate.
With or without a heat lamp
At first I told you that you could work without the lamp, but since I’ve emphasized its function of maintaining the temperature so much…
Imagine you’re working with a lamp; any decoration you’re doing would be quick.
To give you an example. You’re making flowers, and by having the isomalt under the heat lamp, you’re making petals continuously, which allows you to make flowers relatively quickly.
Imagine you’re making the flowers, but without the heat lamp. You’d make a petal or two and then have to reheat the isomalt in the microwave because it’s cooled down. You’d make another petal and reheat it in the microwave again. You could still make the flowers, yes, but the process would be much slower and more tedious.
If using a heat lamp takes you about 5 minutes to make a flower, without a heat lamp, the same flower would take 30 minutes. That’s a huge difference in time. Imagine if you’re planning to make many flowers for a bouquet…
From the moment I started teaching isomalt courses, I was very clear about two things. First, I wanted each student to work with their own lamp, and second, I had to make it accessible so that anyone could get a heat lamp without having to spend a fortune on a specialized one.
For those two reasons I created the isomalt work kits , where you can get the heat lamp, alcohol burner and gloves so you have the essentials to work with isomalt at a reasonable price.
I hope this article has helped answer your questions about the heat lamp, and I’ve included a video where I explain everything:
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