Saracino

Saracino – What Good Modelling Paste Costs and Why It Is Worth It

Altavilla Vicentina lies between Vicenza and Verona, in a region known for its food production, craftsmanship and a certain northern Italian precision. Paolo Zolla founded Saracino in 2005 not as a range extension of an existing business but as an independent answer to a concrete dissatisfaction: the modelling pastes on the market were not good enough. They worked under laboratory conditions but not in actual practice – not when modelling figures that require hours of working time, not when covering cakes in a warm bakery, not when working with thin layers that need to be pulled over complex shapes without tearing.

The vision was clear: develop decorative confectionery products that work as well for professional cake artists as for demanding home bakers – with uncompromising ingredient decisions, continuous research and permanent exchange with those who use the products daily. Alvise Zolla, Paolo Zolla's son, continues the company as CEO and has driven the internationalisation course further. Saracino is today available in numerous countries, with a marketing location in England that coordinates European and global distribution. Behind the company stands an experienced international team: in Italy, specialists in research and development, quality control, production, logistics and sales.

The First and Most Important Decision: What Does Not Go Into the Paste

Palm oil is widespread in modelling pastes because it is cheap and improves texture. But it is temperature-sensitive – in a warm environment a palm oil-containing paste softens and loses stability. For a cake artist modelling for hours with their hands, this is a serious problem: body heat alone is enough to make a palm oil paste soft and sticky. Saracino consistently avoids palm oil and uses high-quality cocoa butter and a little sunflower oil instead. The result is a paste that is smoother, rolls out more evenly, remains more stable – in warmth and humidity – and does not stick to the hands. The sustainability dimension also plays a role: the rejection of palm oil at Saracino connects product quality with responsibility.

Sugar, Fat, Water – and Why the Binder Decides Everything

Modelling paste consists at its core of three components: sugar, fat and water. All three influence processing and all three have been optimised by Saracino. The sugar is double-ground – a production step that is more expensive and time-intensive but prevents lumps and creates an even, fine texture. Only then can a paste be rolled out to 1 mm thickness without the surface appearing grainy. Saracino uses exclusively high-quality Italian sugar – the quality of the raw material directly influences the quality of the end product.

The moisture content is carefully calibrated. A paste with too little moisture dries out during work and cracks. Too much moisture makes it sticky. Saracino has found the equilibrium point – and ensures that the moisture stays well bound so that the paste remains workable even after extended handling time. For figure modelling, where individual parts are first shaped and then joined, this is decisive. The binder is the factor that most strongly determines quality and taste. Xanthan is cheap and widespread but has two weaknesses in confectionery: limited elasticity and an unpleasant aftertaste. Saracino uses tragacanth instead, a natural plant extract. Tragacanth is more expensive but has no flavour of its own and makes the paste stretchy, elastic and resistant to tearing – even when rolled to 1 mm or pulled over complex shapes.

Pasta Model – the Most Award-Winning Product

The Pasta Model is Saracino's core product and was awarded Best Product at the Cake Masters Awards in England in 2017. The Cake Masters Awards are the most significant British awards in cake decoration and confectionery – judged by a jury of professionals with daily practical experience. Professionals worldwide – cake artists, confectioners, cake designers who compete at international championships – use the Pasta Model because it performs better under real working conditions than comparable products.

Fresh from the packaging it is firm but not hard. After brief kneading it becomes soft, smooth and highly elastic – tear-resistant, shapeable, not sticky. It does not dry out immediately, which is decisive when working on larger projects. Two pieces can be joined easily by smoothing the seam with a finger as long as both parts are still moist. The join is nearly invisible. Sealed in the container it stays fresh for a long time because the bound moisture barely escapes. The Pasta Model is available in white and in a broad range of colours – ready to use immediately, no additional colouring needed. Saracino is in permanent exchange with cake artists and professionals to find out how the Pasta Model can be further improved. This feedback flows directly into product development.

Mirror Glaze – the Mirror Shine on the Cake

The Saracino Mirror Glaze is the second main product that miniSchoggi carries. Mirror glaze is a high-gloss, pourable glaze for entremet cakes, dome cakes and desserts. The effect: the cake surface reflects like a mirror, with a depth and brilliance achievable with no other decoration technique.

Mirror glaze is poured at around 35 degrees onto a deep-frozen cake – the temperature difference between glaze and cake is the physical reason the glaze sets rather than running off. This process demands a glaze with precise viscosity: too thin and it runs too fast, creates drips and covers unevenly. Too thick and it does not flow over the edges. The Saracino Mirror Glaze is formulated so that at the right working temperature it has exactly the right flow behaviour. The result is a high gloss that lets the colour and structure of the cake beneath show through perfectly, making the surface look like polished glass.

Product Range at a Glance

Pasta Model · Mirror Glaze · Pasta Cover · Modelling Chocolate

Saracino at miniSchoggi

Modelling paste is not a raw material you can replace with something cheaper without influencing the result. Anyone who has modelled a figure that cracked when finishing, or covered a cake where the seam tore, knows: that is not a technique question, it is a material question. Saracino has answered this material question with an ingredient decision that is more uncompromising than most competitors – no palm oil, no xanthan, double-ground sugar, tragacanth as binder. The result is a paste that behaves as expected: elastic, tear-resistant, smooth, without aftertaste.

Mirror glaze delivers the same standard: a glaze that flows as it should at the right temperature, sets as it should and produces a high gloss that perfects the creation beneath rather than concealing it. Both products are the result of a production philosophy that accepts no compromise between cost and quality when that compromise comes at the expense of the result. miniSchoggi carries Saracino Pasta Model and Mirror Glaze because both products in practice deliver what their ingredient decisions promise. The range is continuously expanded.

2005. Altavilla Vicentina, Veneto. No palm oil. No xanthan. No compromise. Saracino.