confectioner's sugar from granulated

[JRinPA]

There is a definite price difference by the pound...

Does anyone here regularly take granulated sugar and process it further to substitute for 6x or 10x?

Last week sometime I was out of 10x and tried an internet sub for it, that basically granulated in a spice grinder, I think with cornstarch added. It seemed okay after coffee grinder (little high speed chopper) while making the icing, but was still about halfway to granular after it was on the cake. Apparently I did not grind it nearly long enough, but, reading how long is long enough, I figure my grinder will burn out pretty quickly.

So does anyone bother to do this, and how successfully?

[worth1]

I've done it a few times so I had something without corn starch in it for whatever reason I don't remember.
Old Cuisinart blade coffee grinder I've had for years and can't seem to kill.

[pepperhead212]

In my Vitamix I've done it before, but only because I was totally out of 10x sugar, and needed some. In my old blender, years ago, and a spice grinder, it didn't blend quite fine enough, when I tried it, but it was useable, for the thing I used it for (dissolved in a small amount of water), but not for an icing, or something like that where the slight graininess would be noticeable.

[karstopography]

Wondering what could be done with mortar and pestle?

[JRinPA]

Burn a lot of calories to make up for the sugar intake...?

[karstopography]

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Took less than five minutes and a little elbow grease to turn two tablespoons of Imperial pure cane sugar into powdered sugar. I went until I couldn’t hear anything gritty going on.

[JRinPA]

two tablespoons, now do two cups

[JRinPA]

x16 so 80 minutes lol

The first one I had read sounded 30 secs in a grinder. Later I read like 5 minutes.

Used to be we would just run out walmart or redners or giant and buy some sugar. But 4 years later they are still closing at 10-11pm. Really infuriating that we let that BS change our lives. Second shift, when can you even shop now?

[karstopography]

x16 so 80 minutes lol

But, do we know that is true? I only measured out 2 tablespoons of sugar. Would 16 times that amount take 16 times as long, I highly doubt that.

[karstopography]

Turns out trying to do 1/2 cup, eight tablespoons takes LONGER per unit than doing two tablespoons per batch. I tried with a 1/2 cup and put on a stop watch. After 13 minutes, still noticeable grittiness. I gave up.

If you need a little powdered sugar, maybe a mortar and pestle could work. Not for a lot unless someone wants some Popeye forearms!

[JRinPA]

Popeye forearms okay, the time, no thanks. Well thanks for trying, that is above and beyond.
With a small one I think you'd have to about 2 tbsp a time and not much more.
I've never had one of these special ninja vitamin blenders or a good mortarpestle. The spice/coffee grinder is just a little thing and could do less than a half cup max. It would sound like it was working for 30 seconds and then goes high rpm, like nothing left to cut. It felt like it was better, and it was, but it wasn't 10x. My aunt was a pro baker/cake decorator, so most of her recipes use 6x, and she prefers it. My grinder might have taken it to 2x or 3x fine. The icing tasted good, a little too sweet, slicked out a bit and could still feel the crunch.
I forget exactly what conversion site it was. I guess I did 4 quarter cups of 1x and some cornstarch looking to make 2 cups of confectionary.

I compared prices since then, at walmart, sugar itself it up. WM 10x and WM Light Brown are more per lb, either 33% or 50% than WM white. Dark Brown, couldn't find except domino so that was 100% more per lb than regular. We've always just bought, I guess I will too, unless someone comes forth with a game changer.

[JRinPA]

I guess I used 16:1 sugar to cornstarch.
BUT
I did use the WM sugar which is probably sugar beets. Is it possible to make 10x from beet sugar? Supposed to be the same yada yada but some people claim they can taste the diff between beet and cane.

[JRinPA]

Is there one good vitamix or....seems like there are bunch of different products out there. 1 minute and fine enough for icing, I like the sound of that. Just never been much for blending stuff. I'll end up using it for choc and peanut butter.

[pepperhead212]

I use the VM for some flours - about 40-45 seconds to grind most grains and legumes to a fairly fine flour. To make a very fine powder, like the sugar, it takes over a minute. I use it more for smoothies and grinding things with chili peppers or tomatoes - the skin and seeds disappear when blended on high, and nothing has to be strained out, like when using a regular blender.

[JRinPA]

I read you also have that flour mill too. (Searched vitamix on here to see who all uses one.)

I saw some prices and lot of bad reviews on refurbed 1200 series, which I take is the cheap one at only $250+. Take a lot of calories to pay that off as a sugar mill. Just never really used a blender much. Probably emulsifies meat pretty well, for hot dogs.

[pepperhead212]

Yes, I use that Nutrimill, mainly for rye and wheat flours - the VM I use when I need just a small amount of those legume or other odd flours I use sometimes. Or for grinding up dehydrated butternut squash, and use that in recipes for pumpkin. I also grind up those dehydrated eggplants, that I end up with so much of every summer, and I've used that in flatbreads, as well as pasta dough, as part of the flour.

I never used it with meat, but you would need something like that, making sure to start with very cold meat, to make up for the friction heat produced.