Gelatin in mousses

[QbanCrackr]

So I'm kind of new to this cooking thing but I"m diving in head first with desserts...I made a nice little milk chocolate mousse with Callebaut which tasted great. I haven't tried putting it in a ring mold or anything of the sort but I'm assuming that when it chills, the chocolate is what helps it set up to be real nice & thick and stiff.

I really liked it so i tried to do a strawberry mousse...I did it a few times but it just wasn't getting thick (same with a raspberry mousse)...I want to try and form them in a little cylinder mold (I'm guessing line them with parchment or something of the sort and fill with mousse then chill?)

Same goes for those little pyramid mousses...I've searched online but can't find much when it comes to using gelatin with mousse.

The raspberry mousse gets kind of thick and the strawberry mousse doesn't set up at all. You can tilt the container over and it'll just slide down the side.

Basically, is this what I would use? How much is too much?

This is the recipe i used for the strawberry..found it online

* 1 pound strawberries, plus 6 small ones for decoration if you wish

* juice from 1/2 lemon

* 1/2 cup sugar

* 1/2 cup whipping cream

* 4 egg whites

* pinch of salt

any help would really be appreciated

[RichardJones]

Hi QbanCrackr,

I can't offer much advice on the gelatin front -- especially since it depends on the bloom (i.e. strength) of the gelatin you are using which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. Normally the pack will give some indication of what volume of liquid the gelatin will set and you can work with some experimentation from there.

But I have got some thoughts on demoulding. Parchment paper will work to a certain extent. I think the cleanest result if using a circular mould is obtained by lining the mould with acetate tape (leave a little overlap) like this. No need to fix it in place -- physics should do that.

If you are using silicon moulds, no need to line them at all. But it will hope if the mousse is very cold (heading for frozen if it is light) to get the buggers out. You might like to try popping the mould in a bath of warm water to ease exit. With a metal mould, you can heat gently with a blowtorch to the same effect.

I hope this helps!

Richard

[QbanCrackr]

ok great, im probably going to try my hand at some strawberry mousse again in a bit, i've got both a cylinder mold and a pyramid mold but i'll try with the circular one lined with some parchment (as i dont know where to get acetate here in Miami).

but in any case, i'll keep those tips in mind and make sure to jot down all my numbers (who knows if i get lucky with this batch!)

thanks!

danny

[RichardJones]

Danny,

I've now had a chance to look at your recipe. You don't mention what you're doing with the ingredients. But if you are making a meringue with the egg whites (firming with the sugar) and whipping the cream (which you can make as thick as you like) you ought not to be left with a mousse that runs as much as you say. Perhaps you need to be a bit more delicate when folding it all together? Having said that, gelatin will make it easier to demould anyway.

I've just dug out this Pierre Hermé recipe for a raspberry mousse (if using strawberries, same plan, he suggests increasing the lemon juice to account for the lower acidity):

==========

350g raspberries

1 lemon juiced

4 leaves of gelatin (even PH does not let us know what bloom...)

120g italian meringue

160ml double cream (I think you say 'heavy cream' in Miami)

1. Press the fruit through a sieve and aim for 200g purée.

2. Soften the gelatin in cold water until soft then drain. Warm in the microwave until liquid. Add a quarter of the purée and stir well. Add this to the rest of the purée (via a sieve if you're fussy).

3. Whip the cream to soft peaks.

4. Add the lemon juice to the purée-gelatin mix, then fold in the Italian meringue, then fold in the cream.

==========

If you do not know how to make an Italian meringue you should be able to pull this off with a French (standard) meringue but the uncooked eggs might scare the weak and infirm. Texture will be spot different. 40g egg whites (just over one, frustratingly, or find a very large egg), 80g sugar.

Good luck!

Richard

[Tri2Cook]

Gelatin at ~1% in mousses without chocolate and at ~.5% in mousses with chocolate will be plenty in most cases. It provides enough stability for unmolding or filling cakes without losing it's identity as a mousse. Yes, you can do chocolate-based mousses without gelatin but, if you're going to mold it, a little gelatin is cheap insurance. Much better than your dinner guests hearing *plop*... #&@% from the kitchen as they wait for dessert.

[QbanCrackr]

what would that 1%/.5% be based off of? for example with a fruit mousse would it be 1% of the fruit puree amount? or weight?

i'm sorry for sounding like such a newbie at this but frankly with mousses and alot of stuff ive got a looong way to go, hehe

[Tri2Cook]

I use a percentage by weight of the total combined weight of all ingredients. I generally round it off. If I'm working with 2542 grams, I'll just call it 2500 when calculating the gelatin. I'm not usually that relaxed, I'm usually a picky b@#$ard about being precise, but those tiny amounts up or down don't really show up as a difference in the end result in this case. And yes, I'm almost ashamed to admit that I have compared using the 25 grams as opposed to the 25.42 grams. The 1% and .5% are safe numbers and good starting points for the majority of bases I've worked with but, if you have the time and resources to play around with test batches, the minimum amount needed to do the job for a given base is always best.

[paulraphael]

I've been interested in using gelatin (and possibly xanthan or other gums) in mousses ... not for moulding, but to let me get away with less egg. The idea being that eggs work in much larger quantities and so dilute the chocolate more.

I have a recipe for chocolate marquise that I've already modded this way and served. It got good reviews, but I think it has a way to go before the texture is where I want it. I'd be curious to know if anyone else has played with this idea.

[lesliec]

Hi all.

I need your help with some translation. I've been looking for a generic mousse recipe; I want something that will stay fairly firm, so a gelatin-based one seemed right. I've found a promising-sounding one, but it calls for 1½ 'envelopes' of gelatin. Can somebody please tell me what that is in grams?

Thanks ...

[stuartlikesstrudel]

Here's a link...

Its just over 7 grams... I thought I had read somewhere that 7g was about 2 and a bit tsp, and that 2tsp was enough to gel 2 cups, but they say a tablespoon here (note that this is U.S Tablespoon which is 3tsp/15ml, whereas in Australia (and maybe NZ?) a tablespoon is 4tsp).

Anyway, good luck with it What kind of mousse are you making? Does it need to be firm because you're molding it in some fun way?

[lesliec]

Thanks, Stuart. That's an interesting site, which I can see will occupy some significant quantity of my time if I let it.

I seem to think NZ tablespoons are 15ml/3 tsp. Funny things, Aussies. But 7 grams I understand.

Not quite sure of the type of mousse yet, although I did have a rather interesting lychee one at a restaurant recently (didn't pick it as lychee. We were thinking elderflower).

The intention is to make cylinders by pouring the un-set mousse into rolled up acetate sheets, then serve as part of a mixed dessert plate - maybe poked through something else. Yeah, I know, too vague ...

[rlibkind]

One more reason to reference dry ingredients by weight rather than volume, i.e., teaspoon, tablespoon, cup, etc.

[John DePaula]

An excellent explanation of gelatin: David Lebovitz: How to Use Gelatin.

[QbanCrackr]

I've been making a nice chocolate mousse for a while now...well at least i seem to like it (and its easy to flavor it and whatnot, all my family loves it)--but when it comes to fruit mousses...well i'm just slacking there!

What i want to make is something nice and fluffy and flavorful at the same time (i read here that 1% of the total weight in gelatin will stabilize a 1g:1g mix of whipped cream to fruit puree. i tried it at 1:1 and it worked fine, but the flavor wasn't there--when i tried to up the puree (thus adding water content i'd imagine) it wouldn't hold as i wanted.

basically i want something that i can mold and freeze and leave in the fridge ready to go for a party or whatever.

One of my friends got a hold of an Alaska Express mousse base from Qzina (mix that with milk and add to whipped cream and it gives me a real nice texture that i like, but you have to use their fruit pastes and once you switch to puree its a whole 'nother ball game.

Can anyone help me out with at least a basic recipe for something like that which i can just substitute purees with?

Well thanks in advance for anyone that can lead me in the right direction

Edit: somethign like this texture i think would be what im looking for

-D

Edited April 12, 2010 by QbanCrackr (log)

[chiantiglace]

you probably need a better fruit puree

[Kerry Beal]

Something like tapioca maltodestrin might help - Dr Oetker Whip-it is a good source.

[JeanneCake]

Maida Heatter has several excellent fruit mousse recipes (lemon, grapefruit, tangerine, orange, strawberry, lime) in her New Book of Best Desserts that would suit; they can be served in a mold or in individual glasses; you could also use Sherry Yard's Bavarian recipe and just sub out the passion puree for your favorite fruit flavor.

[CanadianBakin']

I like Fruit Cloud Cream from The Cake Bible. I haven't tried freezing it though and Rose doesn't mention it.

[ejw50]

along these lines, what are everybody's experiences with fruit mousses and shelf life

in the freezer?

That is, a standard fruit mousse with pulp, gelatin, water, Italian meringue and whipped cream

in roughly (roughly!) 1.5: 0.1 : 0.3 : 1 : 1 ratio?

Edited April 13, 2010 by ejw50 (log)

[QbanCrackr]

well my fruit puree is basically just throwing fruit in the blender with some sugar to taste and good to go--it suits me fine in stuff like panna cotta and creme brulee but for the mousse i need something with less water.

i just remembered i've got some samples of perfect puree i think it is but i haven't used them yet (not sure on the quality/effect in mousses either yet)

is there a brand of puree anyone can recommend to use? i figure that'd give me more of a consistent product time after time (less surprises too hehe)

[chiantiglace]

I have used them all. Boiron Frere kicks every other fruit puree companies ass. La fruitiere is good, as well as perfect puree. Others have their moments, but Boiron takes the cake, literally.

Edited April 13, 2010 by chiantiglace (log)

[QbanCrackr]

do you know where i can get prices for boiron here in the states?

also, i found this online--hows it look to those of you who've made mousses with italian meringue?

http://www.pastrychef.com/Fruit-Mousse_ep_77.html

are all those quantities by weight?

[binitahp]

I have a recipe for a chocolate mousse that calls for 2 1/3 sheet of 200 bloom gelatin. According to several different sites I found, it seems that 1 sheet of gold gelatin weighs 2 grams. So could I use 4.6 grams of powdered Knox gelatin? I know that powdered gelatin is a higher bloom value so should I decrease that? Thanks.

[Special K]

Maybe this might help?

[binitahp]

Thank you for the link Special K. I will use the link to calculate the amount of gelatin I will need. Thanks again ... happy baking!