An automatic Vicat apparatus (Dettki Steuerungstechnik, Germany) with Vicat needles of different weights (100 g, 300 g and 1000 g) was used to determine the Vicat set according to DIN EN 196-3 for cementitious pastes containing etidronic acid and sucrose. We prepared the pastes by mixing 300.0 g of Portland cement and 150.0 g of water containing the appropriate amount of retarder at a w/c ratio of 0.5. The components were homogenized for 1 minute at 500 rpm using a 4-blade overhead stirrer in a stainless steel cup.