10 replies to this topic

[jrshaul]

I recently made two batches of ganache, both of very different composition. (One used coconut milk.) I put both in the fridge in sealed containers, but even after becoming chilled, neither had really set to any type of hardness.

Pegging them as useless, I put them in the back of the fridge until I could figure out how to fix them. However, two days later, I open them up to find some perfectly solid ganache.

Any thoughts?

[Chris Hennes]

Was your chocolate tempered?

[TheTInCook]

The coconut milk probably has a detrimental effect on the ganache's setting. Coconut fat does that eutectic thing with the cocoa butter.

Other faults that come to mind is your chocolate could have too low cocoa butter content (had that happen to me when making ganache with chocolate chips). Or there is a formula error.

Also, you get a better quality set if you let it set at roomtemp. Takes a while though, like overnight.

[jrshaul]

Was your chocolate tempered?

No. The pour-scalded-cream-into-chocolate technique I'd been acquainted with usually gets hot enough to distemper the chocolate. I'm re-jiggering my sous vide bath for chocolate, which will hypothetically allow me to combine both at about 90F. Would this help?

[Chris Hennes]

I find that keeping the chocolate in temper makes the ganache set up much faster (though I'm not sure this is your issue, a few days is a long time to get it to set tempered or no!). I use the hot cream technique as well, but let the cream cool down before pouring it over the chocolate. I don't remember what the magic temp is though (and it depends on the ratio of cream to chocolate, of course).

[Kerry Beal]

I have my chocolate at around 30 and my liquids at around 40 when I combine - and it sets up very quickly. In the past I have had ganaches that took days to firm up - due to excess heat - and you never knew when they were going to suddenly turn grainy.

[TheTInCook]

I've been thinking of switching to a butter ganache to avoid this kind of problem, but I have no experience with them.

[prairiegirl]

Lentia had a renowned pastry chef doing some demos last fall, and he had some ganaches that he made and he said that they need a few days to dry. If the bonbons are going to be eaten within a few weeks of creation...you generally can't go too wrong with your formulations. I make a caramel ganache that needs a good 24 hours to dry before capping.

[Cassie]

Ganache takes about 48 hours to fully crystallize, so it won't set up in the first couple of hours. You should allow it to crystallize at room temp overnight at least. Refrigerating it for 30 mins or so will speed the process, but you should not store your ganache in the refrigerator. Like tempered chocolate, ganache does not like humidity. So even though it may solidify more quickly in the fridge, you are shortening the shelf life. Mold and bacteria love water.

[jrshaul]

Ganache takes about 48 hours to fully crystallize, so it won't set up in the first couple of hours. You should allow it to crystallize at room temp overnight at least. Refrigerating it for 30 mins or so will speed the process, but you should not store your ganache in the refrigerator. Like tempered chocolate, ganache does not like humidity. So even though it may solidify more quickly in the fridge, you are shortening the shelf life. Mold and bacteria love water.

I was under the impression that, if placed in a sealed container, no additional humidity could enter: just wait until the ganache hits room temperature before opening. Also, refridgerators are generally quite dry.

For my next batch, I'm going to heat both cream and chocolate to 90F in mason jars and then dump one into the other. I knew I built the sous vide rig for something...

[Cassie]

Ganache likes to be stored between 50 and 68*F. Look in Wybau's book Fine Chocolates, Great Experience 3. Also take a look at Greweling's book, Chocolates and Confections. There is a whole section on the refrigeration of ganache. When you refrigerate ganache, unstable fat crystals begin to form in the the ganache which cause it to be too soft when you bring it to room temperature and try to work with it. It also changes the texture and the shelf life. The air in the refrigerator has a higher humidity level than room air (unless you live in a humid climate.)