Vegetable Glycerin substitute

Best substitute

Light corn syrup

Use the same amount as the vegetable glycerin you are replacing

Best for fondant and gum paste

Close match

Light corn syrup at 1:1 is the standard swap and does the same water-holding job in fondant, gum paste and royal icing, though it is stickier to work with and slightly sweeter. Honey or golden syrup also go in 1:1 and work just as well, but they add a faint flavour and a cream tint, which is invisible in coloured fondant and obvious in pure white royal icing. If your only problem is that royal icing sets rock hard, 1/2 teaspoon of corn syrup per cup of icing sugar keeps it pleasant to bite. And if you have none of these, you can leave it out: the fondant will just be firmer and crack a little more readily.

Other vegetable glycerin substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Glucose syrup or liquid glucose
Close match
Use the same amount
Very close in effect to corn syrup and slightly less sweet, which makes it the better pick when you are already fighting a very sweet fondant.
What changes
It is noticeably stiffer straight from the tub, so it takes more warming and working to incorporate evenly. In finished fondant the result is essentially indistinguishable from glycerin.
Best for
fondant and sugarpaste, gum paste, pastillage and modelling paste
Stand the tub in warm water for a few minutes before measuring, or you will fight it. A wet spoon releases it more easily than a dry one.
3Honey
Different taste
Use the same amount
Holds water at least as well as glycerin does, so it keeps fondant supple and cake crumb moist.
What changes
The trade-off is entirely cosmetic and aromatic: honey carries a distinct floral note and a warm cream colour, so white fondant turns faintly ivory and white royal icing loses its brightness. In coloured or dark work nobody will ever know.
Best for
coloured fondant, gingerbread dough and fruit cakes, keeping cake layers moist
Not the choice for anything that must be pure white, and not for royal icing you plan to flood, since the extra sugars slow drying. Mild honeys interfere least.
4Golden syrup or invert sugar syrup
Different taste
Use the same amount
A partially inverted sugar syrup, so like honey it grabs and holds water reliably.
What changes
It brings a mild butterscotch flavour rather than a floral one and a pale amber colour, and it is a touch thinner than glucose, which makes it easier to knead into fondant. Good in anything already coloured or already caramel-flavoured.
Best for
coloured fondant, modelling paste, cakes and traybakes, toffee-flavoured work
It tints white paste a very faint cream, less than honey does but still visible against pure white. Common in the UK and Australia and harder to find in the US.
5Sorbitol syrup
Close match
Use the same amount
The closest thing chemically, since sorbitol is a sugar alcohol used industrially as a humectant for exactly this purpose.
What changes
It is colourless and only mildly sweet, so it behaves almost identically to glycerin in white fondant and royal icing with no flavour or colour interference at all. The only real barrier is that most home kitchens do not have it.
Best for
white fondant and sugarpaste, royal icing, sugar-free and reduced-sugar work
Like glycerin, sorbitol in more than small amounts has a laxative effect, so stick to the teaspoon quantities the recipe intends.
6Leave it out
Different texture
Omit; add water a few drops at a time only if the paste is unworkably stiff
The honest option, and workable, because glycerin is usually a teaspoon or two in a whole batch of fondant.
What changes
What you lose is pliability over time: fondant made without it rolls fine on the day and gets firmer and more prone to cracking at the edges and elephant-skinning as it sits, and royal icing sets genuinely hard rather than merely firm. Neither is a failure, just less forgiving.
Best for
fondant used the same day, royal icing for run-outs and structural work, where hard is wanted, gum paste flowers, which are meant to dry brittle
For gum paste flowers and pastillage, leaving it out is arguably better, since those pieces are supposed to dry hard and hold a delicate shape.

What is Vegetable Glycerin?

Vegetable Glycerin is Vegetable glycerin, also written glycerine and sold as food grade glycerin or glycerol, is a clear, thick, faintly sweet syrup made from plant oils that bakers use in small amounts because it grabs water and refuses to let go of it.

Cooking tips

Glycerin is a humectant, which is the whole reason it appears in these recipes. It does not sweeten meaningfully, it does not soften anything by lubricating it, and it does not affect rise: it simply holds water in the mixture so the mixture stays flexible instead of drying out.
Add it to fondant a teaspoon at a time and knead it fully in before deciding whether you need more. Overdosed fondant turns sticky and slumpy, will not hold an edge, and is very hard to rescue except by kneading in more icing sugar.
Never use glycerin to loosen chocolate. It is water-based, and water makes melted chocolate seize into a grainy paste. Use a neutral oil or cocoa butter for that job instead.
In royal icing, glycerin and its substitutes both slow drying. That is the point when you want an icing that bites cleanly, but it is a problem for flood work and run-outs, so leave it out of any icing that has to set hard and fast.
Glycerin is measured in teaspoons for a good reason: in larger quantities it tastes cloyingly sweet and has a laxative effect. Do not scale it up just because a little bit helped.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave the glycerin out?

Yes, in most recipes. It is normally a teaspoon or two in a whole batch and it is doing a refinement job, not a structural one. Fondant made without it works perfectly on the day but goes firmer and cracks more easily as it sits, and royal icing sets harder. For gum paste flowers, which are supposed to dry brittle, leaving it out is arguably an improvement.

Is glycerin the same as glycerol or glycerine?

Yes, all three names describe the same substance, and vegetable glycerin simply means it was made from plant oils rather than animal fat. Look for food grade or USP grade on the bottle, since glycerin is also sold for soapmaking and cosmetics in grades that are not intended for eating.

Why has my fondant gone sticky since I added glycerin?

You added too much. Glycerin holds water, and past a certain point it holds more water than the sugar structure can carry, which leaves you with a soft, slumping paste. Knead in sifted icing sugar a tablespoon at a time until it firms up, and let it rest wrapped for an hour before rolling.

Can I use glycerin to stop royal icing setting so hard?

Yes, and this is one of its most useful jobs. Roughly 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon per cup of icing sugar gives an icing that stays firm to the touch but bites cleanly instead of shattering, which is what you want on iced cookies. Light corn syrup at the same quantity does the same thing. Leave both out of flood icing and run-outs, which need to set hard.

Will glycerin keep my cake moist?

In a small way, yes, and this is why it appears in some fruit cake and decorated cake recipes. A teaspoon or two in the batter helps the crumb hold water so the cake feels moister on day three. It is a marginal gain compared to not overbaking the cake and wrapping it tightly once cool.

Related substitutes

More baking substitutes

Vegetable Glycerin substitute

Other vegetable glycerin substitutes

2Glucose syrup or liquid glucose

3Honey

4Golden syrup or invert sugar syrup

5Sorbitol syrup

6Leave it out