Fresh herbs in fondant

[ganachegirl]

Hi all,

I recently made a fresh-herb fondant (handmade fondant plus invertase) and am wondering about shelf life. I used the mint fondant approach from Greweling's book but I couldn't find any additional information, just how to make it. It's lovely, but I'm worried about how long I can have these hanging around, especially at room temp. Any experience out there? I searched the forums and noticed that one person had made a fresh mint fondant but was worried about the same thing and strained out the mint.

Thanks!

Jennifer

[DianaM]

Hi ganachegirl,

I've been eyeing the same recipe for a while, maybe I'll bring myself to making it soon.

I have to preface my answer by saying that I'm inexperienced, so I may be wrong. But I know that bacteria needs water to grow. Fondant is way too saturated with sugar to have enough available water for bacterial growth, so I'm pretty sure they're safe for a long time. There is a shelf life table in Greweling's book, whatever shelf life he lists for fondant probably applies to this recipe as well.

Diana

[ganachegirl]

Thanks Diana! I could never find a shelf life indication for fondant in his book. I'll have to look again. I was thinking the same thing about sugar saturation, so maybe I'll just calm down Looking forward to seeing any other comments.

[lironp]

I made the fresh mint fondant with fresh mint and peppermint oil. I kept them around for a couple of months, to see what would happen- there wasn't any mold or bacteria, but the mint flavor almost completely diminished with time, they just tasted like sugar...

[ganachegirl]

Ah, great! At room temp? I will divulge our "secret" recipe by revealing that these are cherry cordials so they also have preserved cherries inside (and therefore some good flavor even if the mint goes away). I'm guessing that won't make a difference, shelf-life wise, but again, all comments are welcome. We've never kept anything but caramels around at room temp for over a few weeks.

[DianaM]

I've just checked Greweling, the table Water Activity of Confections is on p38. He lists the shelf life of fondant as 2 to 3 months. I was intrigued by lironp's response about the loss of flavour, I would not have anticipated that. But certainly it's good to know.

[lebowits]

I've just checked Greweling, the table Water Activity of Confections is on p38. He lists the shelf life of fondant as 2 to 3 months. I was intrigued by lironp's response about the loss of flavour, I would not have anticipated that. But certainly it's good to know.

I believe that the reason for the loss is that the oils (either from fresh leaves or bottled) simply loses whatever volatile elements that bring the distinctive flavor simply dissipate over time.

[ganachegirl]

I've just checked Greweling, the table Water Activity of Confections is on p38. He lists the shelf life of fondant as 2 to 3 months. I was intrigued by lironp's response about the loss of flavour, I would not have anticipated that. But certainly it's good to know.

I believe that the reason for the loss is that the oils (either from fresh leaves or bottled) simply loses whatever volatile elements that bring the distinctive flavor simply dissipate over time.

I wonder if it makes a difference whether those flavorings are mixed in when the fondant is being stirred, or after it's been formed. I actually make plain fondant and then knead in whatever flavorings we use. We haven't had any loss of flavor but I admit we've also frozen them when we make them ahead. I'll need to keep some of those at room temperature for a few months and see what happens. It does make sense that volatiles would dissipate over time. Anyway, thanks for the water activity information!