Sweet bones

[paulraphael]

If you were making a confection, and wanted to create the sensation of crunching through little bones, what might you use? Anything that will stay nice and crisp in a moist environment? Could be a glaze or anything else. 

 

Asking for a friend.

[pastrygirl]

how moist, exactly?

 

nuts, crispy pearls, or crunchy cookie bits with a chocolate raincoat

 

Though I'm trying to think of positive experiences of bones in food ... 🧐

Edited March 31, 2021 by pastrygirl (log)

[shain]

I think that sugar cooked to the right stage can be pulled into strands that might produce a pleasant crunch. It might take some trial and error to reach the right thickness. In order to protect them from moisture one can either coat them in chocolate. A coating of coconut or cocoa fat might also work.

I wonder what the end goal is.

[Duvel]

Chicken cartilage ?

[heidih]

My initial thought was a hard biscotti wrapped in sugar strands - a cage

[Anna N]

35 minutes ago, paulraphael said:

If you were making a confection, and wanted to create the sensation of crunching through little bones, what might you use? Anything that will stay nice and crisp in a moist environment? Could be a glaze or anything else. 

 

Asking for a friend.

The only little bones that I would consider crunching through would be those found in a can of salmon. What other little bones do people crunch through? I mean other than fish bones? What am I missing?

[Altay.Oro]

I can not think of anything but caramelized / sugar coated nuts, seeds etc.

And ... the formulation of the filling should be well balanced and the total water content be well saturated, I think.

But no experience,

I've never tried caramelized nuts directly in moist fillings like ganaches.

 

[AlaMoi]

spun sugar would do the deed - the trick will be to make the threads thick enough to not totally dissolve in 'moisture' - and 'how long' it's held in 'moisture' is also very critical to crunch.

 

sugar taken to the hard  crack stage for example - think hard candy/lolly-pop type thing.  but "in moisture" it still will not stay crunchy forever....

 

[MokaPot]

Agree with the spun sugar (caramel) ideas. Slivered almonds might give you the sensation of crunching through bones.

[weinoo]

Doesn't get bonier or crispier than this...

 

BONES OF THE DEAD COOKIES-OSSA DI MORTO

 

 

But probably not a confection, right?

Edited March 31, 2021 by weinoo (log)

[JeanneCake]

caramelized sesame seeds? sesame seed brittle, chopped?  AUI is selling caramelized cocoa nibs, chocolate coated cocoa nibs and other things like that. Maybe something like that would work?  I feel like feuilletine - even coated in cocoa butter - won't give you a substantive crunch....

[curls]

Would something with the texture of a butterfinger work in this application? There are some good recipes for laminated sugar confections that are enrobed in chocolate to keep the sugar nice and dry.

[Mjx]

9 hours ago, weinoo said:

Doesn't get bonier or crispier than this...

 

BONES OF THE DEAD COOKIES-OSSA DI MORTO

 

 

But probably not a confection, right?

This was exactly what came to mind when I saw this topic!

[weinoo]

3 hours ago, Mjx said:

This was exactly what came to mind when I saw this topic!

 

Great minds, Michaela, great minds!

[pastrygirl]

I have had deep fried fish skeletons at Japanese restaurants and also enjoy crunchy fried shrimp heads. I wonder if you could candy a fish skeleton?  Blanch it a few times to remove the fish flavor then cook in syrup ...

[lemniscate]

I always equated shredded wheat with eating tiny bones.  I am not a fan of shredded wheat.

[HeatherM]

Chicken bones!

[paulraphael]

Thanks for all the ideas. I'm interested in the spun sugar/caramel idea. This is the one that occurred to me first, but I don't know if it would be hydroscopic and lose its crunch. I'm also intrigued by the bones of the dead. 

 

There may be some marzipan involved in this project. If you were to drizzle caramel that's hot enough to become brittle onto marzipan, would it melt/burn/damage it?

[shain]

26 minutes ago, paulraphael said:

would it melt/burn/damage it?

I don't think it'll damage the marzipan, since broiled marzipan is quite delicious, but it might change it's texture.

Maybe form the sugar into thin rods, lay them over a thin sheet of marzipan and roll it together?

[lemniscate]

Another possibility:

https://www.npr.org/2011/11/24/142701409/turkey-joints-that-taste-like-candy

 

https://www.turkeyjoints.com/category-s/100.htm

[jimb0]

On 4/2/2021 at 2:00 PM, HeatherM said:

Chicken bones!

 

i also thought about chicken bones though i personally find them unpleasant. to the point of the topic, though, i think chocolate- or cocoa butter-coated broken sugar shards would be the way to go