Pierre Herme's Pastry Cream v. Jello Pudding:

[gfron1]

Okay, so look - I'm as snooty as the next guy on EG. I turn my nose up at things that couldn't possibly be as good as the real thing. I offer this post in the spirit of the recent Bakers Best v. Scharffenberger thread.

This past weekend I made a dessert that used Pierre Herme's pastry cream. I added 85% Michel Cluizel to it. It was great and received rave reviews. But, I had 3 cups of it left, so I've been eating/Linging it spoonful by spoonful for the past 3 days. I love it! Each bite though reminded me of a childhood memory - Bill Cosby's Jello brand Chocolate Pudding. Surely not, I thought. So I bought a box of the stovetop (not instant) Jello pudding, and sure enough, the flavor difference is so minute that an unsuspecting eater would miss it.

So what does this mean? I used an outstanding chocolate. Pastry cream has corn starch as a thickener, versus what I assumed pudding would use (egg or some chemical from New Jersey). But, yet, the taste and consistency are so similar.

Any other balloon deflating mysterious finds out there? What have you found that could pass for the best, when really its just a box of chemicals and preservatives?

[John DePaula]

...  But, I had 3 cups of it left, so I've been eating/Linging it spoonful by spoonful for the past 3 days. 

...

←

Poor Ling takes so much abuse!

You know we only tease the people we love, right Ling?

[Kerry Beal]

The chocolate pudding I make from scratch uses cornstarch, and I've always assumed the cooked jello pudding also uses cornstarch as the thickener.

There you go, modified foodstarch is the first ingredient listed.

[gfron1]

...  But, I had 3 cups of it left, so I've been eating/Linging it spoonful by spoonful for the past 3 days. 

...

←

Poor Ling takes so much abuse!

You know we only tease the people we love, right Ling?

←

Wow, I always thought using Ling as a verb was a sign of honor and respect...

[John DePaula]

...  But, I had 3 cups of it left, so I've been eating/Linging it spoonful by spoonful for the past 3 days. 

...

←

Poor Ling takes so much abuse!

You know we only tease the people we love, right Ling?

←

Wow, I always thought using Ling as a verb was a sign of honor and respect...

←

But of course!

[duckduck]

I love it when people challenge things like this. Thanks for the post, gfron!

[ruthcooks]

I once spent days making Sauce Espagnole, and swore it tasted like canned beef gravy. Since I never opened a can of it myself, having tasted it only at other people's homes or buffets, etc., I can't answer as to brand. Back then (70s) I think the most popular brand was Franco-American.

I decided homemade beef gravy from a pot roast was an easier and tastier sub.

[tan319]

I've made a chocolate flan using great chocolate, home made syrup with the best chocolate and cocoa in it ( to boost the flavour extra) and the comparison one customer made to it was that it tasted like a hunts snack pack!

What'cha gonna do?

I take it as a compliment I suppose...