Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

Veggie based ganache


Lior

Recommended Posts

Lately I have this odd desire to make weird ganaches. I have made pea ganache, carrot ganache and next is beet ganache. I want to be able to taste the veg and see the color. I am interested to know if anyone else has experimented with this, so we can discuss the hows and whiches and why's. I have used white chocolate in order to let the color through, and coated with dark. I am interested in doing it with dark and milk, but need to push myself and get motivated to do this. Hot sticky weather is not good for motivation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

peas with mint does sound good! Pickled beets? haha! never thought of that. Now peas and mint would not go with white-do you agree? CArrot and caramel? Hmm, I feel milk would suit that. I cooked and mashed and then added carrot juice or pea "juice" for flavour and color. Any suggestions? Have you made something with vegies? A kind of Borsht truffle? Borsht gets served with sour cream...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmmmmm :hmmm: I notice you don't mention how they TASTE. My mouth is squinched up in trepidation as I type these words thinking about vegetables and chocolate ganache.

Edited by Darienne (log)

Darienne

 

learn, learn, learn...

 

We live in hope. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been working on veggie ganaches off and on for a while now. I haven't had a specific need for it at this point so I haven't put in the work I should have to get it right. My goal was to get the taste of the vegetable as forward as possible while minimizing added sweetness except where it would be beneficial. I'm guessing that's what you're after as well. Where I think our goals probably take different roads is that I wasn't really looking for a confectionary application. I had savory uses in mind. As such, I was experimenting with using cocoa butter as the base instead of chocolate. It made keeping the flavor of the veggie intact much easier but obviously leads to other problems for confectionary uses... a major one being cost. I did a smoked tomato and 70% ganache a few years ago that I was happy with as far as chocolate goes and somewhere in the dessert topic are the mousses I did, one with peas and one with carrots, that were used in a sweet application. Chocolate wasn't involved with the mousses but the veggies worked pretty well in a sweet application. Anyway, I haven't got my ideas exactly where I'd like them to be and it's kinda taken a back burner to other projects for now but maybe there's something in all of this rambling that will help.

Edited by Tri2Cook (log)

It's kinda like wrestling a gorilla... you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is tired.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I recall correctly, red velvet cakes originated in using beets to improve the sweetness and flavor of chocolate cakes during WWII rationing. While I'm none to fond of the spheres of cake mix caterers dub "Red velvet truffles," I wonder if one could be produced using beets, buttermilk, cream cheese, and other elements of the traditional cake.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

thanks everyone for the input! Tri2cook, it is a very curious idea to make truffles but not as a confection. I really like that idea. I will also get to that idea one day, but I must stay on task! Yes,jrshaul,although I do not know what a red velvet cake is-I googled it, but yes, if there are carrot cakes, zucchini cakes and beet cakes, then it would work for truffles as well. Darienne-do you like vegie cakes?

I do want the taste of the veg to be up front. And although I am not mad about white chocolate, it is so hard to give up those amazing colors that come naturally from the veg. SO the dilemma. My first carrot truffles were interesting as I did not want to boil the carrots to mash, I processed them but the graininess was always detectable of course. NExt, I cooked and mashed and added natural carrot juice to replace some of the cream. The ganache was very pretty-a light orange. Then I thought of trying coconut cream to the carrots instead of cream. I am not sure though. I now realize I could caramelize the carrots.

I need to go back and experiment. Keep the ideas coming. Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I remember seeing threads here on the Gullet that involve the use of powdered veggies. What about using them?

Theresa :smile:

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."

- Abraham Lincoln

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tri2cook, it is a very curious idea to make truffles but not as a confection.

Truffles weren't planned but that could be fun...

I developed a savory bicuit roulade a few years ago that I think worked out pretty nicely and was looking for other things from the sweet side to incorporate into the theme for the savory side. I thought a layer of a veggie flavored ganache in the savory roulade that I could finish with a shell of some sort (picture savory swiss rolls) might be interesting. I then decided that, as much as I enjoyed the experimenting, it was a bit gimmicky and haven't returned to working on it. Maybe I will someday just for fun.

It's kinda like wrestling a gorilla... you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is tired.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

so many amazing ideas! cranberry ganache on turkey...

you have to also have fun! Tmriga-Perhaps powdered vegies for decoration as well could be interesting! Thanks.

An interesting "tea" could be savory truffles-peas,avocadoes, beets and carrots served on a cracker. I am getting silly-it is way past my bedtime-sorry!! Night!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I tasted a beet flavored filling, based on Milk chocolate in She chocolate in New Zealand- the color still came out, but not as bright as with white chocolate (which I actually prefer, and no aftertaste of white chocolate). I tried finding it on their website but I guess they stopped making it... (although I really liked it!)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

wow-I wish I could have tasted it! Probably nobody liked it!! Lately I have a thing with beets-made cold beet soup with coconut milk and yogurt -Only I liked it. Then I made beet patties-had one everyday for the whole week cause no one wanted to even try them... :laugh: SO beet ganache... I am sure I would love it. I love olive ganache too. After I make those Canadian bars I will make the red velvet cake mentioned above and tell no one what is in it. Now, zucchini-hmmm... milk chocolate I think...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love beets! and beet patties :) The beet filling took some getting used to (I thing it was just a bit on the strong side), but I liked the combination. Another thing they made that I liked was a lemon-Tequilla caramel on top of a dark chocolate salted ganache, that was amazing! I have never tasted an olive oil ganache, sounds interesting- is this from Wybauw's book? Were there any fans? Good luck with the zucchini! :-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

well it was an olive oil and olive filling-not from a book-from Chocolate Line in Bruges. I still can taste it.

Chocolate Line does a pizza filling with tomato and olives too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

yikes! I don't think they had that one when I was there-I am sure I would have bought it to taste! Did you taste it? SOunds a bit too much!!

Didn't like it - could tell it had potential but not as it was.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

This is sort of on the topic, though not with a veggie ganache, but I made an apricot bbq sauce that I thought might be an interesting pairing in a ganache. I haven't had the time yet to fiddle with it, and will be traveling the next couple weeks so it'll have to wait a bit, but was wondering what you all might think of the idea?

I just tried Vosges Chocolates "Mo's Dark Bacon" bar, and I was pleasantly surprised how much I liked the combination of salty, smoky, and sweet. So when I made this BBQ sauce, my mind wandered to that chocolate bacon bar, and I thought, "huh, maybe that would be good."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It just occurred to me that rhubarb is technically a vegetable. Maybe it can be the 'gateway' ganache, as you train people to more uncommon flavors. :wink:

"You dont know everything in the world! You just know how to read!" -an ah-hah! moment for 6-yr old Miss O.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It just occurred to me that rhubarb is technically a vegetable. Maybe it can be the 'gateway' ganache, as you train people to more uncommon flavors. :wink:

Wybauw had a rhubarb ganache recipe in his "Fine Chocolates Great Experiences 3: Extending Shelf Life" book. I just recently picked up the book...it's alright, but I think getting the first book in that series would have been a wiser purchase.

If you would like me to post the recipe, let me know!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...