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Wybauw : Fine Chocolates 2 (Ganaches)


alanamoana

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Just got an e-mail from C.H.I.P.S. notifying me of another $100+ book that I'm sure I can't live without.

I really just love Jean-Pierre Wybauw, so I guess I have to buy this book...

It looks like it focuses on ganaches.

Great technical sections covering emulsifying ingredients, fat mixtures, precrystallizing, homogenizing, curdling, ganaches created under vacuum, shelf life, preservatives, flavor combinations, making ganaches lighter, and much more

The above is from C.H.I.P.S.

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On Amazon.ca it's only $92. It's listed on US amazon, but no price is there. I've pre-ordered it already. Thanks for the heads-up.

What is the name of the book by Wybauw?

Fine Chocolates 2 Ganache

Edited for spelling.

Edited by Anna N (log)

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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Just got an e-mail from C.H.I.P.S. notifying me of another $100+ book that I'm sure I can't live without.

I really just love Jean-Pierre Wybauw, so I guess I have to buy this book...

It looks like it focuses on ganaches.

Thanks for the alert! JPW told us at a workshop at the French Pastry School over a year ago that he was going to work on this after his Chocolate Decorations book, but I hadn't heard anything about and was afraid he might have changed his plans.

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As Kerry Beal posted on another thread, the book is now being carried by Chocolat-Chocolat (a Canadian company). They are offering the book with a bonus chocolate mold (but they don't describe it). I've ordered from them before and they're pretty reasonable. The shipping adds up though, so it might be better to order some other stuff from them at the same time.

I also can't believe the exchange rate! :blink: it is just getting worse and worse!

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As Kerry Beal posted on another thread, the book is now being carried by Chocolat-Chocolat (a Canadian company).  They are offering the book with a bonus chocolate mold (but they don't describe it).  I've ordered from them before and they're pretty reasonable.  The shipping adds up though, so it might be better to order some other stuff from them at the same time.

I also can't believe the exchange rate!  :blink: it is just getting worse and worse!

Or better and better - all depends how you look at it!

What sort of shipping cost do they charge you to send it to the US? It comes to me via Canpar courier usually, so depending on the size of package I usually pay between $10 and $20 for shipping. I usually order a few things when I purchase from them.

Edited by Kerry Beal (log)
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Looks like the shipping is about $23CND, which ends up being about...$24USD!

Yeah, perspective is key. Remember the old days when you were asking me to order you a sausage stuffer? Pretty soon, I'll be begging you to send me chocolate! :blink:

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Looks like the shipping is about $23CND, which ends up being about...$24USD!

Yeah, perspective is key.  Remember the old days when you were asking me to order you a sausage stuffer?  Pretty soon, I'll be begging you to send me chocolate!  :blink:

I'm across the border early in January, I can ship to you from there!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I called Chocolat-chocolat on Thursday and they said they were expecting them that day or the next. But I came home from work on Friday evening and there was a message saying there had been a delay - and did I still want it.

I notice that the status has changed on Amazon.com and .ca to reflect uncertainty about delivery.

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  • 2 weeks later...
I called Chocolat-chocolat on Thursday and they said they were expecting them that day or the next.  But I came home from work on Friday evening and there was a message saying there had been a delay - and did I still want it.

I notice that the status has changed on Amazon.com and .ca to reflect uncertainty about delivery.

Spoke with Chocolat - Chocolat, they don't expect book to be in till Feb 8.

Mark

www.roseconfections.com

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Has anyone read this book yet? Any thoughts on the content, new ideas etc?

Just had the book delivered a little bit ago. Ordered last Thurs. Looks great at 1st page through, same presentation as other. Will post more when I have a chance to read through it. Looks like nice ideas for other gananches.

Mark

www.roseconfections.com

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  • 4 weeks later...

I've finally taken the time to go through my copy so I can post a review. The book is broken up into eleven sections and I will take them on one at a time:

High-Quality Ganache

In this three page section he gives some high level information that you've probably already read a few times, but then there is a little gem with tips on how to better construct a survey for a more accurate taste test. It's not a full course on Design of Experiments, but it will help you determine if one recipe is better than another.

Main Ingredients

This nine page section begins with a description of the basic ingredients of ganache. Here he gives 2-4 paragraph descriptions of the ingredients and their contribution to the ganache. There is a page devoted to the most frequently used spices and fruits that can give you some ideas. It’s not bad, but I think Greweling does a more thorough job.

Technical Aspects

Eighteen pages are devoted to theory. First up is a discussion of how various quantities of cocoa fat and milk fat affect the consistency of the ganache. JPW then goes into a discussion of why ganache should be pre-crystallized. He even goes so far as to state that the milk and other fats should be pre-crystallized. I wasn’t aware of a need for that or that milk fat is at all polymorphic as cocoa butter is. Does anyone have any ideas about this?

He touches on homogenizing of the ganache with a blender for a smooth texture and then discusses creating a ganache under a vacuum. Here I found that part of the reason is to prevent airborne microbes from being mixed into the ganache, not to just prevent the oxygen in the air from being incorporated. So my plan of normal mixing followed by a degassing would only achieve the latter.

Next up is a discussion on making ganaches lighter, first by whipping with its negative consequences, and then by addition of a frappe. He goes on to give three recipes for a suitable frappe if you can’t or don’t want to purchase a commercial product.

Curdling of ganache is discussed with causes and cures followed by a six page discussion of shelf life: microbial deterioration, chemical deterioration, physical deterioration, and preservatives. Water activity is introduced and the scale explained. That is quite useful because JPW supplies the Aw value for each of his recipes. He gives some practical advice on how to manipulate the Aw value, reminding you that corn syrup is not all that soluble in water and doesn’t lower the Aw as much as other sugars.

Starting Out

In this small section JPW outlines the assumptions in his recipes and the allowable substitutions. That is followed by a nice pictorial on how to slab ganache and how to form disks for piping on.

Special Ganaches

This will be the most exciting section for those who would like to cater to those customers with special dietary needs.

Lactose Free: JPW gives a calculation on how to replace the cream and then follows that with three basic ganaches and a Mocha ganache.

No Added Sugar: He offers several variations of a no added sugar ganache using the Callebaut product “Malpra” which is praline with maltitol along with their dark, milk, and white coveture with maltitol under the brand name “Malchoc”. He gives a Butter ganache with saffron, ganache with vodka, mint ganache, Champagne ganache and beer ganache. He gives a great tip of using cocoa butter to coat the snap-rocks so you can add them to the Champagne truffles without the cream setting them off. Previously I had to use an all butter ganache but this looks like a great idea.

This is followed by four recipes with a long shelf life (Aw 0.69 and under) and seven glazing ganaches and two sauces.

Ganaches with Stimulating Properties

In this section JPW admits that marketers like to play up the stimulating properties of some ingredients before providing nineteen new ganaches making use of them. These are laid out as in the previous book “Fine Chocolates Great Experience”, one to a page with a full color photograph opposite. Unfortunately as this is a book of ganache the pictures aren’t always relevant. Often they are of the finished molded praline and only occasionally cut in half. The pictures are really nice though and make this worthy of being a coffee table book. JPW makes use of a number of the new Mayan inspired molds.

Caramel-Based Ganaches

JPW spends a page discussing the caramelizing of sugars and how to mask some of the sweetness with baking soda. That is followed by eight new recipes.

Fruity Ganaches

The first page is a sort discussion of concerns when using fruit puree, freeze-dried fruit chunks, and freeze-dried fruit crystals. Nine new fruit based ganaches follow.

More Suggestions

This is a catchall with sixteen recipes. He also introduces the use of cuvettes along with egg liqueur, caramel, rum and anise cream.

Pralines with Several Layers

This might be a translation problem, but this section deals with dual layer ganaches. That includes the fruity layers we are familiar with, caramel layers, and praline layers. He includes six recipes here.

Useful Information

This starts with a very interesting method of infusing solid chocolate using an additional amount of cocoa butter. I recall there was a thread on this very subject some time back. He then gives two methods of creating your own invert sugar, one recipe for making almond milk, two for coffee extract, two for a whipped cream substitute, three for whipped cream for pralines, and one airy filling with a minimum of lactose.

My summary:

I would advise a beginner to go with Greweling’s book as a basic primer on ganache, but if you already own it this is a worthy addition to your library. It compliments Greweling and introduces a number of specialty ganaches, a few neat tips and a host of new recipes to keep you busy.

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I've finally taken the time to go through my copy so I can post a review. 

. . .

Thanks so much for posting this review.

I have been following this topic but can't say that I had a huge interest in seeing this book but now I definitely want to have a look at it.

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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I would advise a beginner to go with Greweling’s book as a basic primer on ganache, but if you already own it this is a worthy addition to your library.  It compliments Greweling and introduces a number of specialty ganaches, a few neat tips and a host of new recipes to keep you busy.

Are the recipes laid out basically the same way as in his first book, i.e. basically a list of ingredients, and then three steps: "make ganache," "cut," "enrobe," and about 75% whitespace on the page? I think I'm getting to the point where I can try his recipes from the first one, but man, those were intimidating to a beginner!

Chris Hennes
Director of Operations
chennes@egullet.org

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Are the recipes laid out basically the same way as in his first book, i.e. basically a list of ingredients, and then three steps: "make ganache," "cut," "enrobe," and about 75% whitespace on the page? I think I'm getting to the point where I can try his recipes from the first one, but man, those were intimidating to a beginner!

Yes, the layout is heavy on the whitespace and the directions are fairly repetitive. If you wanted to, you could collapse all the recipe sections down to a few pages at the cost of the margins and the pretty pictures.

The book is rather pricey for the level of content, especially compared to Greweling which is the new standard any chocolate book will be compared to. JPW knows his material, but Greweling manages to convey it more coherently and thoroughly, probably because he is a professional instructor. That along with the fact that English is not JPW’s first language makes Greweling’s book easier to follow.

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Are the recipes laid out basically the same way as in his first book, i.e. basically a list of ingredients, and then three steps: "make ganache," "cut," "enrobe," and about 75% whitespace on the page? I think I'm getting to the point where I can try his recipes from the first one, but man, those were intimidating to a beginner!

Yes, the layout is heavy on the whitespace and the directions are fairly repetitive. If you wanted to, you could collapse all the recipe sections down to a few pages at the cost of the margins and the pretty pictures.

The book is rather pricey for the level of content, especially compared to Greweling which is the new standard any chocolate book will be compared to. JPW knows his material, but Greweling manages to convey it more coherently and thoroughly, probably because he is a professional instructor. That along with the fact that English is not JPW’s first language makes Greweling’s book easier to follow.

Thanks a lot for the review, I appreciate it!!

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i'm a little pissed, but amazon has this book on special right now for USD$62.37. it isn't in stock yet, but if you pre-order, you're guaranteed the special price.

damn. if only i had a little patience!

edited to add: they also have a 5% pre-order special...so you can get the book for $59.25

i hope someone takes advantage of this offer...

Edited by alanamoana (log)
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i'm a little pissed, but amazon has this book on special right now for USD$62.37.  it isn't in stock yet, but if you pre-order, you're guaranteed the special price.

damn.  if only i had a little patience!

edited to add:  they also have a 5% pre-order special...so you can get the book for $59.25

i hope someone takes advantage of this offer...

That was the impetus I was waiting for... just what I need, another book about chocolate :huh: . Thanks for the heads-up.

Chris Hennes
Director of Operations
chennes@egullet.org

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  • 3 weeks later...
That was the impetus I was waiting for... just what I need, another book about chocolate  :huh: . Thanks for the heads-up.

LOL same here... don't tell my g/f until the book arrives and I get to keep it :biggrin:

I have JPW's other two books and I agree Greweling is the standard... and still a Recchiuti fan too. :raz:

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