How to thicken nut spread?

[Clementus]

Hi everyone!

I am making pate a tartiner - hazelnut spread. I want to make spread much thicker (like Nutella) as it is very runny now, even after long time (it doesnt crystalize).

Recipe I am using:

44% hazelnut praline 70:30

6% hazelnut paste

38% gianduja 1:2 (hazelnut paste:milk chocolate)

3% cocoa powder

5% milk powder

3% clarified butter

0.8% soya lecithin

1% locus bean gum

 

It contains 50% of hazelnuts in this recipe. I want that to stay.

Any suggestions on what to add, change etc., so it woul get more thick?

 

Best regards!

Edited September 29, 2023 by Clementus (log)

[pastrygirl]

Skip the clarified butter or switch it to cocoa butter and increase the milk & cocoa powders. 

 

[Jim D.]

You are adding a substantial mount of hazelnut paste (in the praline, the plain paste, and the gianduja), and hazelnut paste in itself is rather fluid.

 

Are you purchasing the gianduja or making it yourself?  If the latter, then you can mix hazelnut praline and chocolate to make gianduja and omit the other additions of paste.  In this way you will have more control over the final consistency.  Before starting, you can judge the consistency of the paste (which varies quite a lot) and vary the amount of chocolate you add.  I take a bit of the finished gianduja and let it set, and if it never gets to the stage of firmness I want, I add more chocolate and melt everything together again.  Gianduja is forgiving in that you can melt it over and over (as long as it is eventually tempered).  This may be more fuss than you are willing to undertake, but it's a thought.

[Clementus]

Will try adding more solids.

 

Yes that is the main problem, becouse there is a lot of hazelnut paste, which is fluid. I have found on one website very similar recipe, and on a picture it looks thicker. I tried contacting them, but with no success. https://www.lesdelicesdecaro.com/la-pate-a-tartiner/#comment-11438

 

I am making gianduja myself: 2:1 (milk chocolate:hazelnut paste). I am doing exactly what you described! It is quite liquid at the start, so I am hoping that it will crystalize, maybe it thickens up a little bit, but not as much as I would hope.

[Jim D.]

Are you tempering the gianduja?  There are various ways of doing this: You can use cocoa butter silk if you have access to that.  Otherwise "table" it, or put the pot in a larger pot filled with cold water and stir the gianduja.  It will thicken as it crystallizes.  As I said previously, if it gets too thick, you can always melt it and repeat the process.

 

When you say "hazelnut paste," I assume you are speaking of plain paste (not hazelnut praline paste).  If so, then you may need more chocolate.

[Kerry Beal]

Like Jim says - needs to be tempered. 

[Clementus]

Of course it is tempered, the gianduja itself is hard, bit softer than a chocolate, but hard. No, I make gianduja with hazelnut paste (plain paste), are you making it with praline paste?

[Kerry Beal]

Are you heating it to the temperature required to hydrate the locust bean gum?

[Clementus]

I added locust bean gum at last batch, hoping it would thicken hazelnut spread. Well, I am not...maybe that’s the reason nothing has changed.

 

How about soya lecithin? I just mix it with melted clarified butter (max. 30C), is that proper usage?

[Kerry Beal]

Lecithin tends to make chocolate products more fluid at certain levels. If you add too much, then it tends to make them more solid. There are certainly gums that hydrate at room temperature, but have to be thoroughly mixed.

 

I believe that Guar, carboxymethylcellulose and lambda carrageenan will stabilize without heat. See if you can find the underbelly description of stabilizers written by one of eGullet‘s ice cream specialists. He goes through the various stabilizers.

[Smithy]

1 hour ago, Kerry Beal said:

 

I believe that Guar, carboxymethylcellulose and lambda carrageenan will stabilize without heat. See if you can find the underbelly description of stabilizers written by one of eGullet‘s ice cream specialists. He goes through the various stabilizers.

 

Let me help in your search: I think Kerry is referring to @paulraphael and his discussions.

[jedovaty]

When I was making my own hazelnut praline paste, I always wondered how to get it thicker.. running it in the melanger made it totally liquid.  I tried varying the types and ratios of fat, including coconut oil and cacao butter, and I'd also try tempering.  None really worked.. it would end up solid in the fridge and liquid at room temp/

Then I found it would nicely thicken up with water.  VERY CAREFULLY, I'd add water drop by drop with the melanger running.  Carefully being key, as just dropping it in could seize up and cause major problems like suddenly break the melanger.  Later I switched to vanilla extract, again, drop by drop. 

Since I wasn't making this to sell or share commercially, and the paste never lasted more than a couple weeks in my fridge, I wasn't concerned about water activity, bacteria, mold, etc.

 

[Kerry Beal]

5 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

Let me help in your search: I think Kerry is referring to @paulraphael and his discussions.

Yes I am - I was heading out this am and didn't have time to link to this. 

 

The focus is ice cream but the theory applies - Underbelly.org

[Kerry Beal]

3 hours ago, jedovaty said:

When I was making my own hazelnut praline paste, I always wondered how to get it thicker.. running it in the melanger made it totally liquid.  I tried varying the types and ratios of fat, including coconut oil and cacao butter, and I'd also try tempering.  None really worked.. it would end up solid in the fridge and liquid at room temp/

Then I found it would nicely thicken up with water.  VERY CAREFULLY, I'd add water drop by drop with the melanger running.  Carefully being key, as just dropping it in could seize up and cause major problems like suddenly break the melanger.  Later I switched to vanilla extract, again, drop by drop. 

Since I wasn't making this to sell or share commercially, and the paste never lasted more than a couple weeks in my fridge, I wasn't concerned about water activity, bacteria, mold, etc.

 

Takes me back to Elaine Gonzales book Chocolate Artistry . When you are piping chocolate around a double easter egg or a big figure you thicken it with a bit of water to get a pipe-able consistency. 

[jedovaty]

7 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

Takes me back to Elaine Gonzales book Chocolate Artistry . When you are piping chocolate around a double easter egg or a big figure you thicken it with a bit of water to get a pipe-able consistency. 

And your piping example in turn reminds me of heston blumenthal's chocolate mousse.  I've made it a few times and funny, never drew the connection!  Sorry to go off topic, this stuff is great as a filling for alternative diets and/or allergies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4cMjxZc_54

[Kerry Beal]

6 minutes ago, jedovaty said:

And your piping example in turn reminds me of heston blumenthal's chocolate mousse.  I've made it a few times and funny, never drew the connection!  Sorry to go off topic, this stuff is great as a filling for alternative diets and/or allergies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4cMjxZc_54

Which in turn is the Hervé This one ingredient chocolate mousse. 

Edited October 5, 2023 by Kerry Beal (log)

[Clementus]

As I was loking to buy all these gums, temperatures dropped, now the spread is solid haha

 

Well, the drop of water is not an option, since I want to make it as long shelf stable as possible.

 

Will also check the tread about gums, to understand them more. Thank you everyone!