Wybauw's Pineapples

[cslas]

Hi all,

 

Just back from a trip and discovered I have some pineapple puree in my fridge that's shelf life is set to end this month. Was looking for a simple-ish recipe to use it and think I've found one in Wybauw's Fine Chocolates (p. 439). Of course, it's a little vague, so I thought I'd see if you guys have any advice.

 

The recipe calls for:

200 g sucrose

150 g glucose

300 g cream

65 g butter

160 g pineapple

 

The Method:

1. Caramelize the sugar and glucose

2. Quench the caramel with cream and add the butter

3. Add the pineapple puree and cook to 112 c / 234 f. Cool

4. Fill the mould, let stiffen, and cover

 

So I'm thinking glucose syrup, not powder, right? Also, does anyone have any chocolate recommendations? I've got the following on hand:

Cacao Barry Lactée Barry Équilibre 35.3% Milk Chocolate

Callebaut 823-NV Milk Chocolate

Callebaut 6040 (60-40-38NV) Thin Bittersweet

Valrhona Ivoire White Chocolate

Valrhona - Dulcey 32%

 

Thanks!

[Jim D.]

I have used this recipe many times and like the taste very much. I always mold it in milk chocolate, but dark would be good as well. I would not use white as it is a very sweet caramel. The recipe has, however, given me lots of trouble. There is a discussion of it elsewhere in a thread on caramel difficulties. It may be my shortcomings, but every time I followed the recipe as written, the pineapple burned. It is very difficult to get the caramel to the prescribed temperature with that issue. It is also a caramel that tends to leak from the shell (not sure of the reason for that). I have tried many approaches. The one that seemed most promising was to make the caramel with cream, then add the hot pineapple near the end. But there is no way to get the pineapple above boiling point, and so it cools down the caramel, and you are faced with cooking to the desired temperature all over again. My latest approach is to make the caramel with cream only, but cook it to the firm ball point (252F or even higher). Meanwhile heat the pineapple and add it at the end. It will thin out the caramel, but the high temp (and thus viscosity) of the caramel counteracts that to some degree. I also add pineapple flavor with some Amoretti pineapple flavoring, which is an all-natural product (really just concentrated pineapple) and some citric acid, which really helps to counteract the sweetness of this filling. This works well. I got some of those Chocolate World molds that look like pineapples and paint some leaves in one end of each cavity with green cocoa butter, then spray the molds with gold or yellow.

[cslas]

Ah, thanks for the information and for the tip about past conversations Jim. I was dashing out the door and didn't think to look first. Including a link to a previous conversation here in case someone else ends up in a similar position.

 

 

[teonzo]

13 hours ago, Jim D. said:

My latest approach is to make the caramel with cream only, but cook it to the firm ball point (252F or even higher). Meanwhile heat the pineapple and add it at the end.

 

You can reduce the pineapple puree on low heat to 1/3 or 1/4, then add it to the caramel as you are doing. This way you solve the problem related to the excessive water.

If you have a chamber vacuum sealer you can put the pineapple puree at about 70° C in it, run the machine to 100%, so it will keep pumping while the puree is boiling and thus reducing. You need to use a big container for the puree otherwise it will flow out during the boiling. This way you reduce it without heating it too much and ruining the flavor. You will need to stop the machine and re-heat the puree to 70° C a couple times. After that be sure to bring it to 100° C just before adding it to the caramel, to be 100% sure that you de-activated the bromelain (proteolitic enzymes).

 

 

 

Teo