Tuesday, 26 October 2010

Yummy Dough - The edible play dough


If I had 50p for every time I shouted at 15-month-old Pierre "Nooo don't put that in your mouth, it's caca" (he's bilingual !!), I'd be a rich woman ! I therefore absolutely love the idea of Yummy Dough, the Edible Play Dough. He can get involved with squishing and rolling and kneading the dough with his sisters and for once, I won't have to watch him like a hawk for the inevitable moment his fingers start moving towards his mouth. Woohoo ! I love it already !

The bright yellow box featuring a friendly lion and two little girls, Sarah and Luisa, obviously made from Yummy Dough (but in real life the inspiration behind the product), immediately attracted the attention of Sophie and Juliette who wanted to know what, and I quote,  "Yummy Dog" was all about !! As the box explains, you just shape it, bake it and eat it. To excited cries of "Can we do it now ?", we ripped open the box.

Inside you get four sachets of powder in the four classic play dough colours of red,blue, green and yellow. The mixture basically contains wheat flour, sugar, starch, egg powder, milk protein, flavourings and various E-numbers to add the bright colours. If your children are subject to allergies, you should be aware that the product contains gluten, wheat, milk, nut, egg, sesame and celery.

You just need to pour the contents of one sachet into a bowl, add 15ml of water (there's a handy syringe in the box to make measuring and adding the water hassle and mess free), mix it up and knead to a play dough consistency. As you'll be eating the final product, remind your kids to wash their hands before they start ! I originally got out four bowls for making up the four colours of dough but decided to save on washing up by using the same bowl for each colour one after the other ! You can also combine colours, either before or after adding the water and mixing the flour into dough, and the box explains which new colours you can make by blending which colours - all very educational !

The enclosed leaflet explains that it is important you add exactly 15ml of water and to do so gradually. Use a spoon, not your hands, to mix the water into the mix - I would presume you'd end up with food colouring-stained fingers otherwise ! After a few minutes, it will look like crumble mix and you'll be convinced it needs extra water but don't do it ! Just start kneading it with your hands and it will magically form into a perfect dough mixture. If you find it's too sticky, add a slight sprinkling of normal flour and that should sort it out.

The consistency of the dough is less crumbly and messy than many modelling clays I've used in the past (if anything, it's a bit sticky) and is easy to shape, roll and mould. The girls had great fun making little figures and creatures and Pierre loved squishing it, constantly looking at me as if waiting for me to yell at him not to eat it ! I should point out that the box says that children under 3 shouldn't play with this because it's a choking hazard but as long as you constantly watch your young children playing, it shouldn't be a problem. The pack includes a little cutting/modelling tool but I also got out some cookie cutters - if you're tempted to get out the modelling clay accessories, remember you'll be eating the finished creations !

The Yummy Dough is designed to be baked before eating but the box reassures you that the ingredients are perfectly safe to be eaten before being cooked, they just won't taste so nice ! The Yummy Dough must be baked and eaten on the day it is made and, if you've overbaked it, it is (according to the packaging) delicious dipped in a milky drink to soften it.

The girls had great fun making little models and were really excited about sitting down to eat them when they came out of the oven. They're not the tastiest biscuits I've ever made but one look at the girls faces and I could tell they were way more impressed by their funny-looking offerings than any gourmet cookies I've ever made ! The girls love playing with play dough and baking and Yummy Dough is a fabulous and surprisingly mess-free way of combining both. It's the perfect way for whiling away a rainy Saturday afternoon, even if it is expensive for what it is !

Another great bonus is the fact that if you upload photos of your creations to the Yummy Dough website, you stand the chance to win a digital camera each month. Right, what are we making next girls ?!

star rating : 4/5

RRP : £7.99

for more information : http://www.yummydough.com/

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