Playdough-off!

Jeanne here.

So I thought I would start making playdough for Benji, mainly because the way he likes to play with it (rolling, smashing, making dinosaur/animal/truck tracks in it, filling dumptrucks with it) requires vast stretches of playdough. I tried three recipes, and I thought I'd rate them here, in case any of you are ever thinking of making Play-dough.



1. Uncooked Playdough. Totally lame -- crumbly, not pliable. Let's not bother.










2. Cooked Playdough. This is the one my mom used to make for us, from a recipe courtesy of her friend Anita. The recipe makes a ton -- perfect for Jurassic landscapes.










3. Jello Playdough. I found this recipe on the Internet, and it was claimed that it would stand up to the real thing.











Our contenders: Cooked Playdough (foreground), Jello Playdough (left background), and "Play-doh" (right background).











First Test: Impressions.

The Cooked Playdough easily makes a nice, detailed impression of tire marks and dino feet. A strong showing.













The Jello Playdough seems to want to spring back into shape -- not surprisingly, given the gelatin. This poses a problem for impressions.
Not quite as deep or accurate.












Play-doh makes a very nice impression -- perfectly crisp -- but it's actually harder to make an impression in it than in the Cooked Playdough, since it's not as pliable.









Second test: Cut-outs.



Cooked Playdough and Jello Playdough had similar drawbacks for cut-outs. They were both a little too pliable for this purpose, so the cut-outs were not crisp.











Yes, the industrial chemicals won this round, hands-down.












Third Test: Extrusion.



Ah, extrusion. Everyone's favorite use for Playdough. Hasbro must know this, because Play-doh extrudes marvelously, with crisp, clean edges.












But the Cooked Playdough does pretty well, too -- less raggedy than the Jello Playdough.












Well, I will continue making playdough for Benji, given that he likes to use several cubic inches of it at once, but I'm under no illusions that I've matched Play-doh. Well-played, Hasbro. Well-played. Of the homemade versions, I'll stick with what I grew up with.

Anita's Playdough recipe:

3 c. flour
1 1/2 c. salt
2 Tablespoons cream of tartar
3 c. water
food coloring
3 Tablespoons cooking oil

Mix dry ingredients.
Mix wet ingredients.
Blend dry and wet, then stir over low heat until the mixture forms a ball (5 to 10 minutes).
Knead a bit, and let cool. Store in an airtight container.