Nut fats and milk fats in ganache

[SweetandSnappyJen]

Hi folks:

 

I'm trying to wrap my head around ganache formulation and the difference between using nut fats(paste or praline) and milk fats. Can anyone point me to a thread on this site or elsewhere? Thanks!

[pastrygirl]

When it comes to emulsifying, I think fat is fat. The problem with nut pastes is all the solids ... can you be more specific on what you’ve tried so far and your desired results?

[Jim D.]

I'm not sure this is what you are asking, but....

 

As I understand ganache, it always has some liquid (usually cream, but other liquids can be used) that must be emulsified with some sort of chocolate. If you want something that (1) has more nut taste and (2) can be inside a shell with crisp ingredients (such as a cookie), then gianduja is ideal because (1) there is no liquid to dilute its taste and (2) there is no liquid to soften the crisp item. It's all fat. A praline ganache will often use hazelnut praline paste, cream, and chocolate and requires emulsifying. A hazelnut gianduja will use hazelnut praline paste and chocolate, no emulsifying required.

Edited January 15, 2019 by Jim D. (log)

[SweetandSnappyJen]

Thanks, Jim, that makes sense. For a praline ganache, would one use equal parts hazelnut paste and cream? I think my source of confusion is how to get the right amount of water/moisture if using both cream and nut paste, without also adding too much fat. 

[Jim D.]

18 minutes ago, SweetandSnappyJen said:

Thanks, Jim, that makes sense. For a praline ganache, would one use equal parts hazelnut paste and cream? I think my source of confusion is how to get the right amount of water/moisture if using both cream and nut paste, without also adding too much fat. 

 

Peter Greweling's recipe calls for 400g cream, 400g praline paste, and 400g chocolate (in this case, milk). Depending on the consistency of the paste (which can vary a great deal), I also add a little cocoa butter to firm up the ganache. Your ganache will let you know if you have too much fat--it will separate and the fat will float on top. This can be fixed by adding more liquid. For a long time I found this illogical, but then I realized what should have been obvious all along, that the water and fat content do have to be balanced. One of the difficulties with U.S. cream is that much of the time the fat content is not specified, so it's a bit of a crapshoot.

[SweetandSnappyJen]

Thanks, Jim. The fact that the fat will separate to the top is a good visual indicator..

[pastrygirl]

1 hour ago, Jim D. said:

 

As I understand ganache, it always has some liquid (usually cream, but other liquids can be used) that must be emulsified with some sort of chocolate.

 

 

I'd call ganache an emulsification of the water in (usually) cream and the fat in chocolate.  Cream is water, fat, and a few solids.  Chocolate and nuts are both all fat and solids, no water.  So the nut  paste will act like more chocolate in terms of needing more liquid to emulsify but without the hardening effect of cocoa butter.

[Kerry Beal]

1 hour ago, Jim D. said:

 

Peter Greweling's recipe calls for 400g cream, 400g praline paste, and 400g chocolate (in this case, milk). Depending on the consistency of the paste (which can vary a great deal), I also add a little cocoa butter to firm up the ganache. Your ganache will let you know if you have too much fat--it will separate and the fat will float on top. This can be fixed by adding more liquid. For a long time I found this illogical, but then I realized what should have been obvious all along, that the water and fat content do have to be balanced. One of the difficulties with U.S. cream is that much of the time the fat content is not specified, so it's a bit of a crapshoot.

We are fortunate in Canada that cream comes labelled with fat content. I was blown away in a grocery store in PA when I picked up the cream containers and discovered that it was not specified. @chocolat sent me a recipe that called for half and half - I used 10% which is what we call half and half in Canada - she meant 18% which is what we call table cream. 

[Jim D.]

1 hour ago, Kerry Beal said:

We are fortunate in Canada that cream comes labelled with fat content. I was blown away in a grocery store in PA when I picked up the cream containers and discovered that it was not specified. @chocolat sent me a recipe that called for half and half - I used 10% which is what we call half and half in Canada - she meant 18% which is what we call table cream. 

 

There is U.S. minimum for fat content in heavy cream, so I just assume that in grocery-store cream all corners that can be cut are cut and so go with that minimum. Not a very precise way to cook.