Pistachio paste

[Kerry Beal]

So we dropped by the Fiddyment Farm booth at the FFS show yesterday. Delightful people. Apparently they make a paste about half way between the butter and the paste. The butter is ground pistachio with no additional oil. The paste is more finely ground pistachio with some pistachio oil and the product between is more finely ground without the additional oil. On tasting the products the paste provided the best flavor - likely due to the additional surface area(?). Samples of the mid product will be forthcoming.

 

At another booth we asked for Jo's information why the pistachio in the shell taste better often than the kernels - they said it was because often the kernels are from the shells that don't open and are the inferior kernels that are small and fall out of the open shells. This booth sells their shelled nuts as Kirkland brand in Costco - they said they are top grade. Apparently the shelled nuts being sold there before but not under the Kirkland name were not the top grade nuts. 

[Jim D.]

6 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

So we dropped by the Fiddyment Farm booth at the FFS show yesterday. Delightful people. Apparently they make a paste about half way between the butter and the paste. The butter is ground pistachio with no additional oil. The paste is more finely ground pistachio with some pistachio oil and the product between is more finely ground without the additional oil. On tasting the products the paste provided the best flavor - likely due to the additional surface area(?). Samples of the mid product will be forthcoming.

 

As I stated earlier in this thread, I ordered some of the Fiddyment Farm paste and really liked it. In a side-by-side comparison with Agrimontana, I could tell them apart, with more "depth of flavor" in the Agrimontana but a more pistachio-y taste to the FF. I am switching to the FF, especially now that the various European brands are more difficult to find, not to mention much more expensive.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

On ‎1‎/‎3‎/‎2018 at 2:42 AM, pastrygirl said:

 

I think best results would be with at least a pound, to keep things moving and not spread too thin, but I haven't tried less than that.  I'll try to remember next time I'm grinding hazelnuts to see how a smaller amount does - I've been doing do 2 or 3lb at a time, pre-ground in my cuisinart until small then transferred to the grinder to finish.

 

Yesterday I christened my machine with a good pound of walnuts.  My yield was only 75 percent.  I fear these things are designed for larger batches.  No complaints at all about the quality of the paste!  (Cleanup was another story.)

 

As I recall California pistachios are the same price as my walnuts and I'm not thrilled with the idea of 25 percent of my investment washing down the drain.

 

[Lisa Shock]

I just made ice cream with the Fiddyment Farm paste, and it worked very well -very tasty. I just used the standard French base formula (which makes a tad over 1 qt) and added 1/4 cup paste while cooling the base prior to adding the cream.

[Rajala]

I got a quick question regarding the stone grinder. How much noise does it make? The video someone posted with the pistachios didn't seem that bad, but it's hard to know from a video. I'm thinking about getting one to, yeah, make my own pralines etc.  

[pastrygirl]

3 hours ago, Rajala said:

I got a quick question regarding the stone grinder. How much noise does it make? The video someone posted with the pistachios didn't seem that bad, but it's hard to know from a video. I'm thinking about getting one to, yeah, make my own pralines etc.  

 

It's not bad.  It's a white noise hum like freeway traffic, not high pitched like a blender.  One can talk over it.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

4 hours ago, Rajala said:

I got a quick question regarding the stone grinder. How much noise does it make? The video someone posted with the pistachios didn't seem that bad, but it's hard to know from a video. I'm thinking about getting one to, yeah, make my own pralines etc.  

 

A freight train comes to mind.  Saves having to use the white noise sleep machine.

 

Get one.

 

[Rajala]

Hehe, I guess it won't sound much worse than my 3D printer while printing for 24 hours.  

 

Well, I'm getting one when I get my salary.

[keychris]

It's no worse than an Excalibur dehydrator!

[Luke]

On 1/3/2018 at 6:28 PM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

What weight of pistachios is in the video?

 

 

Hi Jo,

 

That's about 250g of roasted pistachios, lightly broken up first by blender.

 

Cheers

Luke

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, Luke said:

 

Hi Jo,

 

That's about 250g of roasted pistachios, lightly broken up first by blender.

 

Cheers

Luke

 

Thanks @Luke.  I am surprised.  What was your yield with that small amount of nuts?  I found when I ground a pound of walnuts (admittedly not pistachios) I ended up with only 3/4 pound of paste.  Maybe I don't know how to get the last bit out of the grinder.

 

[Rajala]

Before I make a purchase. Could I do my own praline with this? Add some roasted hazelnuts to a caramel, put the final result in a mixer to make smaller pieces and then add the "powder" to the stone grinder to finish it off?

[pastrygirl]

15 hours ago, Rajala said:

Before I make a purchase. Could I do my own praline with this? Add some roasted hazelnuts to a caramel, put the final result in a mixer to make smaller pieces and then add the "powder" to the stone grinder to finish it off?

 

Yes, you should be able to make praline.  I haven't done caramel and nuts exactly like that, but I do add granulated sugar to my hazelnut paste, and I've also used the grinder on caramel/toffee, so I don't see why caramelized nuts shouldn't work.  As long as things are loose/oily enough to keep moving.

[Rajala]

1 hour ago, pastrygirl said:

 

Yes, you should be able to make praline.  I haven't done caramel and nuts exactly like that, but I do add granulated sugar to my hazelnut paste, and I've also used the grinder on caramel/toffee, so I don't see why caramelized nuts shouldn't work.  As long as things are loose/oily enough to keep moving.

 

Sweet. That's good to hear. How long does it normally take to make something really smooth? 12 hours? 24?

[pastrygirl]

@Rajala if you’re making bean to bar chocolate you might go overnight, but nuts and sugar should only require a few hours. 

[Rajala]

@pastrygirlThat's good to hear. Can't wait to try this out. Something with hazelnut will be the first thing for sure.  

[julie99nl]

 

 

They had these at Chocoa last week. They don't make much noise at all. It's next on my list. It's sitting in my shopping cart at amazon already

I'm dreaming of pistachio paste and super smooth praline paste....

 

[Rajala]

22 minutes ago, julie99nl said:

 

 

They had these at Chocoa last week. They don't make much noise at all. It's next on my list. It's sitting in my shopping cart at amazon already

I'm dreaming of pistachio paste and super smooth praline paste....

 

 

Hehe, I've been clicking buy a few times. Just bought chocolate and colours etc for 300 EUR though.  

 

But I'll order this in a few days. Can't resist.

[Rajala]

Got my grinder a week ago and made a super smooth almond paste, to try it out. Can't believe how good it come out with so little effort. 

 

I got a question regarding the original subject of this thread though; pistachios. I'm wondering what the best way would be to remove the skin from the pistachios. I was told to boil them for 3-4 minutes but that seems a bit long and that they would absorb way too much water.

[Kerry Beal]

10 hours ago, Rajala said:

Got my grinder a week ago and made a super smooth almond paste, to try it out. Can't believe how good it come out with so little effort. 

 

I got a question regarding the original subject of this thread though; pistachios. I'm wondering what the best way would be to remove the skin from the pistachios. I was told to boil them for 3-4 minutes but that seems a bit long and that they would absorb way too much water.

Why not try it with skins on?

[Rajala]

Just now, Kerry Beal said:

Why not try it with skins on?

 

Yeah, I could do that as well. Just read that you'll get a much nicer color if the skin is removed.  

[Kerry Beal]

Just now, Rajala said:

 

Yeah, I could do that as well. Just read that you'll get a much nicer color if the skin is removed.  

Certainly won't be brilliant green with skins on. What are your plans for the completed paste?

[Rajala]

1 minute ago, Kerry Beal said:

Certainly won't be brilliant green with skins on. What are your plans for the completed paste?

 

A mousse for a petit gateau I've been designing and probably some filling for moulded chocolates. So it would be nice to have it as green as possible. I have 2 kgs on the way, maybe I should just try both, won't learn without trying I guess. I just have this urge to try to succeed on the first try. It happens that I do, not common though.

[Kerry Beal]

 

Got this bottle sent to me - it's not terribly green for sure - so likely made with skins on?

[Rajala]

Yeah, no expert here, but I would guess that it's made with skins on as you suggest. I'm going to try both as soon as the shipment arrive. I can report back on the difference!