Gianduja: The Topic

[Kerry Beal]

I agree - just cause I haven't done it doesn't mean it can't, or shouldn't be done. Lots of things in this world I've never done.

I wonder if you took gianduja and aerated it a la Greweling in your cream siphon if you'd get the most righteous Aero bar ever?

[sote23]

you should try making some from scratch. It's not that difficult to do. You also don't need a commercial food proscessor. of course they are much better, but I get acceptable results with a cheapy $50 processor. In fact it's the same model we used in the schotts class. I think it tastes much better made from scratch in my opinion.

luis

[mostlylana]

you should try making some from scratch. It's not that difficult to do. You also don't need a commercial food proscessor. of course they are much better, but I get acceptable results with a cheapy $50 processor. In fact it's the same model we used in the schotts class. I think it tastes much better made from scratch in my opinion.

luis

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As I am working toward using organic products and can't find an organic hazelnut paste I wanted to try my hand at making my own. While working with chocoalatiers in Italy (who use A LOT of hazelnut paste) I asked about making my own. Paul DeBondt sometimes uses his 'Bimby' to make hazelnut paste but says it doesn't get fine enough to make a very smooth gianduja. I asked about using the Santha wet grinder. The chocolatiers I spoke to didn't think the Santha would grind fine enough. I decided to ask John Nanci of Chocolate Alchemy about it. He said it would absolutely work - he's done it himself. Does anyone know if Chocolate Alchemy will be offering the Santha again? - it hasn't been offered for a few months now... Luis, how smooth does the food processor make your paste? Do you add oil or just use the nuts? Thanks!

[Kerry Beal]

you should try making some from scratch. It's not that difficult to do. You also don't need a commercial food proscessor. of course they are much better, but I get acceptable results with a cheapy $50 processor. In fact it's the same model we used in the schotts class. I think it tastes much better made from scratch in my opinion.

luis

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As I am working toward using organic products and can't find an organic hazelnut paste I wanted to try my hand at making my own. While working with chocoalatiers in Italy (who use A LOT of hazelnut paste) I asked about making my own. Paul DeBondt sometimes uses his 'Bimby' to make hazelnut paste but says it doesn't get fine enough to make a very smooth gianduja. I asked about using the Santha wet grinder. The chocolatiers I spoke to didn't think the Santha would grind fine enough. I decided to ask John Nanci of Chocolate Alchemy about it. He said it would absolutely work - he's done it himself. Does anyone know if Chocolate Alchemy will be offering the Santha again? - it hasn't been offered for a few months now... Luis, how smooth does the food processor make your paste? Do you add oil or just use the nuts? Thanks!

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John usually has the Santhas again within a few months. He has to special order the model he has had them adapt and then he has to wait for shipping from India and they don't come air freight unfortunately. I'm sure he can tell you when he'll have them next.

It would work well to make nut pastes - just make sure no water contaminates it.

I can make a pretty smooth almond paste with my Cuisinart DLC-X.

[Darienne]

No, no, don't misunderstand me. I am all for trying stuff that has not been done before. That is how I reached a unexpected pinnacle in my 'other' life with gourds.

However, I have never been a 'cook' of any kind. And while we have been in Moab, I have made so many things which I had never made before: candying peels and fruits of different kinds, hard tack lollipops, divinity, bark, orange sticks, chocolate coated nuts and coffee beans, etc, etc. And you can see that these are not sophisticated items to make. And I have had a great number of 'learning experiences' aka disasters, including emergency dental surgery for a tooth broken on one of my candying disasters...

And I still have never made marzipan or fondant or a myriad of other confections that some of you made...at your Mother's knee.

This is still all so new to me. I'll make Gianduja from scratch some year in the future. Right now, I'll settle for buying the hazelnut paste and mixing it with chocolate. This time around, I simply bought premade Gianduja from a Utah chocolate supplier.

It is interesting to embark on a new and unknown passion quite well on into life after 'retiring' in one sense or other from former lives. One goes from level of 'expert' or some such thing, to complete novice, learning, learning, learning.... I wouldn't have it any other way. Keeps one young(ish).

(Sorry, writing is another passion...)

[mostlylana]

 

I can make a pretty smooth almond paste with my Cuisinart DLC-X.

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Hey Kerry, do you use oil when making your almond paste or just plain nuts? Any tricks I should know about? I should try my food processor before buying yet another piece of equipment!

[Kerry Beal]

 

I can make a pretty smooth almond paste with my Cuisinart DLC-X.

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Hey Kerry, do you use oil when making your almond paste or just plain nuts? Any tricks I should know about? I should try my food processor before buying yet another piece of equipment!

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Yup, try the food processor first. Blanch almonds and peel, leave them a bit wet before grinding.

I've lost the copy of my recipe in Mastercook (never call a recipe by the same name as one that's already in Mastercook). I'll see if I can find a hard copy somewhere in the house and post it for you.

[mostlylana]

I'll see if I can find a hard copy somewhere in the house and post it for you.

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Thanks!

[Kerry Beal]

Here we go. From Better than Store Bought - by Helen Witty. I love her cookbooks.

1/2 lb blanched almonds (or ground almonds)

2 tbsp water

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

2 tbsp white corn syrup

1/4 tsp almond extract or several drops bitter almond oil

Put almonds in oven at 250 degrees until just heated though - not toasted. Grind in food processor adding the 2 tbsp water. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl frequently and process until there is no graininess when pinched between your fingers. Bring sugar, 1/2 cup water and corn syrup to boil and cook to 235ºF. Add extract or bitter almond oil to nuts in processor, turn on processor and pour syrup through feed tube. Process until uniformly combined. Wrap in parchment, then plastic (I vacuum seal) and age in fridge for a week.

[mostlylana]

Here we go.  From Better than Store Bought - by Helen Witty.  I love her cookbooks.

1/2 lb blanched almonds (or ground almonds)

2 tbsp water

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

2 tbsp white corn syrup

1/4 tsp almond extract or several drops bitter almond oil

Put almonds in oven at 250 degrees until just heated though - not toasted.  Grind in food processor adding the 2 tbsp water.  Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl frequently and process until there is no graininess when pinched between your fingers.  Bring sugar, 1/2 cup water and corn syrup to boil and cook to 235ºF.  Add extract or bitter almond oil to nuts in processor, turn on processor and pour syrup through feed tube.  Process until uniformly combined.  Wrap in parchment, then plastic (I vacuum seal) and age in fridge for a week.

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Thanks so much Kerry. I'm going to try this with hazelnuts and see how it works.

[Kerry Beal]

Here we go.  From Better than Store Bought - by Helen Witty.  I love her cookbooks.

1/2 lb blanched almonds (or ground almonds)

2 tbsp water

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

2 tbsp white corn syrup

1/4 tsp almond extract or several drops bitter almond oil

Put almonds in oven at 250 degrees until just heated though - not toasted.  Grind in food processor adding the 2 tbsp water.  Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl frequently and process until there is no graininess when pinched between your fingers.  Bring sugar, 1/2 cup water and corn syrup to boil and cook to 235ºF.  Add extract or bitter almond oil to nuts in processor, turn on processor and pour syrup through feed tube.  Process until uniformly combined.  Wrap in parchment, then plastic (I vacuum seal) and age in fridge for a week.

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Thanks so much Kerry. I'm going to try this with hazelnuts and see how it works.

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Not sure if this will give you a traditional hazelnut paste - they are thinner - more like a thin peanut butter (at least the stuff without sugar). That I make like peanut butter in my Sumeet spice grinder which is like a coffee grinder on steroids. But it will probably still taste great - mifgt want the nuts a bit more toasted for flavour.

[mostlylana]

Not sure if this will give you a traditional hazelnut paste - they are thinner - more like a thin peanut butter (at least the stuff without sugar).  That I make like peanut butter in my Sumeet spice grinder which is like a coffee grinder on steroids.  But it will probably still taste great - mifgt want the nuts a bit more toasted for flavour.

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Kerry - you're amazing! My goodness you're a wealth of information! What I'm interested in is making hazelnut paste which I can then use to make gianduja. I would like to make both sweetened (hazelnut praline) and unsweetened (hazelnut paste). Yes, the store bought versions are quite runny which is what I would need. Sooooooo... does the Sumeet multi-grind actually give you smooth nut butters????!!! I see that it has a 1/2HP motor - pretty powerful. The Santha melangeur sold on Chocolate Alchemy has a 1/4HP motor. I know I'm not comparing apples to apples here but here's the million dollar question... which do you think would do a better job in making a true hazelnut paste (with very little discernable 'grit' - ie. VERY SMOOTH)? Wow, this is exciting!

[Kerry Beal]

Not sure if this will give you a traditional hazelnut paste - they are thinner - more like a thin peanut butter (at least the stuff without sugar).  That I make like peanut butter in my Sumeet spice grinder which is like a coffee grinder on steroids.  But it will probably still taste great - mifgt want the nuts a bit more toasted for flavour.

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Kerry - you're amazing! My goodness you're a wealth of information! What I'm interested in is making hazelnut paste which I can then use to make gianduja. I would like to make both sweetened (hazelnut praline) and unsweetened (hazelnut paste). Yes, the store bought versions are quite runny which is what I would need. Sooooooo... does the Sumeet multi-grind actually give you smooth nut butters????!!! I see that it has a 1/2HP motor - pretty powerful. The Santha melangeur sold on Chocolate Alchemy has a 1/4HP motor. I know I'm not comparing apples to apples here but here's the million dollar question... which do you think would do a better job in making a true hazelnut paste (with very little discernable 'grit' - ie. VERY SMOOTH)? Wow, this is exciting!

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I think ultimately the Santha would give the smoothest paste. If a Santha can conche, then it can take the place of the stone grinders that are used to make nut pastes. That being said, I think you can get a pretty respectable smooth paste from the Sumeet too and at a couple of hundred dollars less and in a fraction of the time.

So I haven't really helped have I. Let me make a batch tonight in the Sumeet and see if I can find some of the commercial stuff around the house to compare it too.

[mostlylana]

Let me make a batch tonight in the Sumeet and see if I can find some of the commercial stuff around the house to compare it too.

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Kerry you're amazing!!!! Thank you!!!

[Kerry Beal]

Ok, batch made! Most important - if you are going to keep hazelnuts in the freezer - vacuum seal them - they taste like freezer - but that didn't interfere with the experiment.

I toasted for several minutes in the microwave, got off whatever skins I could with a towel and processed them in the Sumeet. Within a couple of minutes I had a smooth paste, to make it more like the commercial product I added a bit of oil (don't have any hazelnut oil unfortunately) and processed for a minute more.

It's very smooth - could be a bit smoother, but I think just getting rid of all the skins and processing for another 2 or 3 minutes would have done the trick.

I'm making a batch of gianduja with it now - I'll let you know how it tempers up.

[gap]

Not sure if this will give you a traditional hazelnut paste - they are thinner - more like a thin peanut butter (at least the stuff without sugar).  That I make like peanut butter in my Sumeet spice grinder which is like a coffee grinder on steroids.  But it will probably still taste great - mifgt want the nuts a bit more toasted for flavour.

←

Kerry - you're amazing! My goodness you're a wealth of information! What I'm interested in is making hazelnut paste which I can then use to make gianduja. I would like to make both sweetened (hazelnut praline) and unsweetened (hazelnut paste). Yes, the store bought versions are quite runny which is what I would need. Sooooooo... does the Sumeet multi-grind actually give you smooth nut butters????!!! I see that it has a 1/2HP motor - pretty powerful. The Santha melangeur sold on Chocolate Alchemy has a 1/4HP motor. I know I'm not comparing apples to apples here but here's the million dollar question... which do you think would do a better job in making a true hazelnut paste (with very little discernable 'grit' - ie. VERY SMOOTH)? Wow, this is exciting!

←

I know different countries have different "naming" conventions so I'm always careful when saying things like this but I think hazelnut paste usually refers to a pure nut paste (PNP) - ie., hazelnut paste is just ground hazelnuts, no added sugar as there is for almond paste. (Just in case you have a recipe calling for hazelnut paste)

[Kerry Beal]

Not sure if this will give you a traditional hazelnut paste - they are thinner - more like a thin peanut butter (at least the stuff without sugar).  That I make like peanut butter in my Sumeet spice grinder which is like a coffee grinder on steroids.  But it will probably still taste great - mifgt want the nuts a bit more toasted for flavour.

←

Kerry - you're amazing! My goodness you're a wealth of information! What I'm interested in is making hazelnut paste which I can then use to make gianduja. I would like to make both sweetened (hazelnut praline) and unsweetened (hazelnut paste). Yes, the store bought versions are quite runny which is what I would need. Sooooooo... does the Sumeet multi-grind actually give you smooth nut butters????!!! I see that it has a 1/2HP motor - pretty powerful. The Santha melangeur sold on Chocolate Alchemy has a 1/4HP motor. I know I'm not comparing apples to apples here but here's the million dollar question... which do you think would do a better job in making a true hazelnut paste (with very little discernable 'grit' - ie. VERY SMOOTH)? Wow, this is exciting!

←

I know different countries have different "naming" conventions so I'm always careful when saying things like this but I think hazelnut paste usually refers to a pure nut paste (PNP) - ie., hazelnut paste is just ground hazelnuts, no added sugar as there is for almond paste. (Just in case you have a recipe calling for hazelnut paste)

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I think you are right. It sure does cause some confusion!

[mostlylana]

Ok, batch made!  Most important - if you are going to keep hazelnuts in the freezer - vacuum seal them - they taste like freezer - but that didn't interfere with the experiment.

I toasted for several minutes in the microwave, got off whatever skins I could with a towel and processed them in the Sumeet.  Within a couple of minutes I had a smooth paste, to make it more like the commercial product I added a bit of oil (don't have any hazelnut oil unfortunately) and processed for a minute more.

It's very smooth - could be a bit smoother, but I think just getting rid of all the skins and processing for another 2 or 3 minutes would have done the trick.

I'm making a batch of gianduja with it now - I'll let you know how it tempers up.

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I think you're right Kerry. I think half the battle is getting those darn skins off the hazelnuts. I have sourced some beautiful roasted organic hazelnuts grown here in BC but a lot of the skins are still adhered to the nut. I have tried in vain to find blanched organic hazelnuts. Anyone? I think I'll try the soda method to see if I can remove the remainder of the skins. But I guess that means roasting again...

[mrose]

I think ultimately the Santha would give the smoothest paste.  If a Santha can conche, then it can take the place of the stone grinders that are used to make nut pastes.  That being said, I think you can get a pretty respectable smooth paste from the Sumeet too and at a couple of hundred dollars less and in a fraction of the time. 

So I haven't really helped have I.  Let me make a batch tonight in the Sumeet and see if I can find some of the commercial stuff around the house to compare it too.

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Can you give some info on the Sumeet?

[Kerry Beal]

So here is the final gianduja. I tempered it by seeding. It required cooling down to about 25º C.

This is a 500 gram bar mold, so it took a while to cool and as you can see acquired cooling marks on the top of the bar. I thought that having added some random oil (I think it was sunflower) might interfere with the temper - but it seems OK.

It's interesting to see the eutectic effect of the different oils on the cocoa butter in the chocolate when you add the hazelnut paste to the melted chocolate. It's like adding coconut oil to chocolate when you are making meltaways. Melted chocolate that is fairly viscous suddenly becomes runny.

Anyway the texture is nice - not silky smooth, but not granular in any way. This would be a perfectly acceptable gianduja for a product you want to sell.

I forgot to mention - the proportions were about 350 grams of milk chocolate to about 150 grams of hazelnut paste.

Edited December 29, 2008 by Kerry Beal (log)

[Kerry Beal]

I think ultimately the Santha would give the smoothest paste.  If a Santha can conche, then it can take the place of the stone grinders that are used to make nut pastes.  That being said, I think you can get a pretty respectable smooth paste from the Sumeet too and at a couple of hundred dollars less and in a fraction of the time. 

So I haven't really helped have I.  Let me make a batch tonight in the Sumeet and see if I can find some of the commercial stuff around the house to compare it too.

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Can you give some info on the Sumeet?

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Mark, here is a link to the Sumeet Multigrind, which is the unit I have (click on the middle picture). I've used it to make nut butters, cocoa liquor from cacoa nibs and I can grind 2 inch thick pieces of saigon cinnamon bark into powder. It will also powder dried ginger and dried turmeric root - which is apparently one of the most difficult things to grind.

[mostlylana]

So here is the final gianduja.  I tempered it by seeding.  It required cooling down to about 25º C. 

This is a 500 gram bar mold, so it took a while to cool and as you can see acquired cooling marks on the top of the bar.  I thought that having added some random oil (I think it was sunflower) might interfere with the temper - but it seems OK. 

It's interesting to see the eutectic effect of the different oils on the cocoa butter in the chocolate when you add the hazelnut paste to the melted chocolate.  It's like adding coconut oil to chocolate when you are making meltaways.  Melted chocolate that is fairly viscous suddenly becomes runny. 

Anyway the texture is nice - not silky smooth, but not granular in any way.  This would be a perfectly acceptable gianduja for a product you want to sell.

I forgot to mention - the proportions were about 350 grams of milk chocolate to about 150 grams of hazelnut paste.

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Kerry, thank you so much for such a thorough experiment. Your gianduja looks beautiful... I want some! It seems by what I read that the Sumeet Multi Grind isn't available anymore. I will call and ask to be sure. It seems like the Asia model is just a more complex and bigger unit that will do just as well as the Multi Grind. Would you have any idea of how a Vitamix would work for this purpose? It has a very powerful motor but I don't think it has the proper blades to get the smooth effect that the Sumeet gets. Thoughts anyone?

.

[Kerry Beal]

Kerry, thank you so much for such a thorough experiment.  Your gianduja looks beautiful... I want some!  It seems by what I read that the Sumeet Multi Grind isn't available anymore.  I will call and ask to be sure.  It seems like the Asia model is just a more complex and bigger unit that will do just as well as the Multi Grind.  Would you have any idea of how a Vitamix would work for this purpose?  It has a very powerful motor but I don't think it has the proper blades to get the smooth effect that the Sumeet gets.  Thoughts anyone?

The Asia model would be fine if you can't get the Multi Grind. I don't think that the vitamix has the same action so I'm not sure if it would work as well. I suspect a Vitamix might cost more. I suppose if you've already got one it would be worth a try.

Edited December 29, 2008 by Kerry Beal (log)

[tammylc]

So here is the final gianduja.  I tempered it by seeding.  It required cooling down to about 25º C. 

This is a 500 gram bar mold, so it took a while to cool and as you can see acquired cooling marks on the top of the bar.  I thought that having added some random oil (I think it was sunflower) might interfere with the temper - but it seems OK. 

It's interesting to see the eutectic effect of the different oils on the cocoa butter in the chocolate when you add the hazelnut paste to the melted chocolate.  It's like adding coconut oil to chocolate when you are making meltaways.  Melted chocolate that is fairly viscous suddenly becomes runny. 

Anyway the texture is nice - not silky smooth, but not granular in any way.  This would be a perfectly acceptable gianduja for a product you want to sell.

I forgot to mention - the proportions were about 350 grams of milk chocolate to about 150 grams of hazelnut paste.

←

Kerry, thank you so much for such a thorough experiment. Your gianduja looks beautiful... I want some! It seems by what I read that the Sumeet Multi Grind isn't available anymore. I will call and ask to be sure. It seems like the Asia model is just a more complex and bigger unit that will do just as well as the Multi Grind. Would you have any idea of how a Vitamix would work for this purpose? It has a very powerful motor but I don't think it has the proper blades to get the smooth effect that the Sumeet gets. Thoughts anyone?

.

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The website Kerry linked to let me add the Multi Grind to my cart, although I didn't finish paying or anything. Where are you reading that it's not available?

[mostlylana]

The website Kerry linked to let me add the Multi Grind to my cart, although I didn't finish paying or anything. Where are you reading that it's not available?

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I read a few posts here and on other sites that say they can't get it here in NA. Apparently the site always says 'temporarily out of stock'. See here: http://www.sumeet.net/ and click on 'models' on the menu.

One person ordered one and a year later is still waiting. I think I'll call and ask.......