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ComeUndone

By ComeUndone
in Ontario: Cooking & Baking

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ComeUndone

ComeUndone

Posted
Posted

I hope this is not just a seasonal offering but President's Choice now has a frozen puff pastry dough made with butter! The dough is already rolled out and ready to be cut. Although the ingredient list shows content of other fats as well, it listed butter before all the other fats. I hope it contains a decent amount of butter.

I will report back on the quality shortly.

Tarte Tatin, here I come!

Candy Wong

"With a name like Candy, I think I'm destined to make dessert."

Want to know more? Read all about me in my blog.

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ComeUndone

ComeUndone

Posted
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Posted

Gifted Gourmet, which store do you buy the Pepperidge Farms puff pastry sheet? I can only find them in blocks at Brunos in Toronto but not already rolled out. I agree that they rise well but I had a side by side taste test with an all-butter puff pastry dough from scratch....woah, the flavour difference was very pronounced. That's why I'm really hoping to find a consistant source for frozen puff pastry dough made with butter. :biggrin:

Candy Wong

"With a name like Candy, I think I'm destined to make dessert."

Want to know more? Read all about me in my blog.

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Marlene

Marlene

Posted
Posted

Bruno's here in Oakville used to sell the Pepperidge Farm puff pastry, but they seem to have stopped. We have a new Supercentre here. I'll have to check that out. Having an arthritic shoulder impedes rolling out ability. I'd love to have stuff to work with that was already rolled out!

Marlene

Practice. Do it over. Get it right.

Mostly, I want people to be as happy eating my food as I am cooking it.

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Librarian_chef

Librarian_chef

Posted
Posted (edited)

How is the flakiness of the butter based puff pastry? Lard, while not yielding the flavour that butter does, usually yields a flakier pastry, I find. We should all steer clear from Vegetable Shortening these days. How much is the Loblaw's product?

Mark

Revisions: I was thinking pie crust. Couldn't you make it with Lard though?

Edited by Librarian_chef (log)
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ComeUndone

ComeUndone

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I have yet to bake them up....

I've never seen puff pastry made with lard. I think it is more commonly used for pie dough. The reason that lard makes flakier pastry than butter is because butter contains water whereas lard is 100% fat. Each has its own advantage.

Commercial puff pastry is often made with roll-in fat which is a type of vegetable shortening. The advantage of roll-in fat is that they are much easier to work with. If properly made, puff pastry is flaky regardless of which type of fat being used. I like to judge the quality of puff pastry based on how high it rises, whether it rises evenly, and of course, flavour.

Each package contains 2 sheets of 10" squares. I think it cost between $2.49 to $2.99.

Candy Wong

"With a name like Candy, I think I'm destined to make dessert."

Want to know more? Read all about me in my blog.

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chromedome

chromedome

Posted
Posted

I've been using the Pepperidge Farm puff pastry at work, but I don't like it very much. Not that it doesn't puff...it does, beautifully...but like all shortening-based puff in my experience, it tastes like nothing in particular and has a less-than-pleasant mouthfeel.

I've just gotten the green light to switch my purchasing to the Mark-Crest brand, out of BC, which is all butter. I've baked with samples and it seems to puff just as well as the shortening-based puff (they make both a high-rise and a low-rise version, depending on which you need); but the taste of the all-butter product is markedly better.

This is commercial use, mind you; I haven't seen either of these in stores. The supermarkets here only seem to carry the usual Tenderflake brand.

“Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too.” - William Cowper, The Task, Book Three

 

"Not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition...The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you’re a member of the Dunning-Kruger club.” - psychologist David Dunning

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
Wayne

Wayne

Posted
Posted

I tried out the PC Puff Pastry with butter. Used it to make a tarte tatin and I

have to say I'm not overly impressed. It browned well and puffed up but

there wasn't a great butter flavor. It was better than other grocery store

frozen puff pastry I've tried.

I would use it again but what I would really like to find is a better frozen product

or a bakery that sellls a good quality in-house product

I know it's stew. What KIND of stew?

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jayt90

jayt90

Posted
Posted
I tried out the PC Puff Pastry with butter. Used it to make a tarte tatin and I

have to say I'm not overly impressed.

I bought a box of frozen croissants, made in France, with butter as the only fat, from Costco. $14 got me a very large box. I tried baking them in a convection oven and was truly unimpressed: soggy, half risen and not a lot of butter flavour.

Could be my heating technique, but if I'm going to fire up the oven, I'll consult Julia and James, and go from scratch.

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Marlene

Marlene

Posted
Posted

I have those croissants from Costco and I agree. I'm not thrilled with them. I like their old ones better.

I've just picked up some of this puff pastry and I'll try it this week. Now if I could just find the PC bittersweet dark chocolate the Toronto Star was raving about last week. . . . .

Marlene

Practice. Do it over. Get it right.

Mostly, I want people to be as happy eating my food as I am cooking it.

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Anna N

Anna N

Posted
Posted
I have those croissants from Costco and I agree. I'm not thrilled with them.  I like their old ones better.

I've just picked up some of this puff pastry and I'll try it this week.  Now if I could just find the PC bittersweet dark chocolate the Toronto Star was raving about last week. . . . .

Marlene,

Look in the candy section - I'm serious - that's where I find it at Fortinos on Appleby Line. I hope it is the same as I did not see the article in The Star but it is nice chocolate - comes in a huge bar - 500g and it's about $5.99.

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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Marlene

Marlene

Posted
Posted
I have those croissants from Costco and I agree. I'm not thrilled with them.  I like their old ones better.

I've just picked up some of this puff pastry and I'll try it this week.  Now if I could just find the PC bittersweet dark chocolate the Toronto Star was raving about last week. . . . .

Marlene,

Look in the candy section - I'm serious - that's where I find it at Fortinos on Appleby Line. I hope it is the same as I did not see the article in The Star but it is nice chocolate - comes in a huge bar - 500g and it's about $5.99.

Really? Thanks Anna!

Marlene

Practice. Do it over. Get it right.

Mostly, I want people to be as happy eating my food as I am cooking it.

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Anna N

Anna N

Posted
Posted
Yes, the chocolate bar is in the candy aisle.  It's 3.99 around Ottawa(they had bittersweet the other day but no milk chocolate).

Sandra

WOW! $3.99? I'm coming to Ottawa to stock up!

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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Marlene

Marlene

Posted
Posted

Aha! Now who would have thought to look in the candy section?! I now have several bars of this stuff and am anticipating rum ball and truffle making today and tomorrow. :smile:

So now here's a question. If one isn't going to use all this chocolate right away, should I freeze it?

Marlene

Practice. Do it over. Get it right.

Mostly, I want people to be as happy eating my food as I am cooking it.

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jayt90

jayt90

Posted
Posted

It should keep well in a cool, dry, dark area for six months. There may even be a stale date imprinted on the label. I remember choco experts saying that a white bloom can develop over time, but the chocolate is still safe to use.

The basic danger, after a few months, would be rancidity, and this can be detected by smelling.

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ComeUndone

ComeUndone

Posted
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Posted

I finally had a chance to bake up the puff pastry and I was also very disappointed with the taste (or lack thereof). It does taste better than other store-bought puff pastry such as Tenderflake or Pepperidge Farms but it is still far from dough made from scratch.

I think it is a good alternative if I need a small amount of puff pastry for garnishing purposes but I would not use it as a main component of a dish.

Candy Wong

"With a name like Candy, I think I'm destined to make dessert."

Want to know more? Read all about me in my blog.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Librarian_chef

Librarian_chef

Posted
Posted

I tried out the PC Puff Pastry last night. I made Apple Tart Tatin. I found the pastry tolerable, but only comparable with the peppridge farms and other brands. It just didn't get the lift I expected. The flavour was pleasant, not too buttery. I will have to see how it holds up in a beef wellington.

Mark

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allezcuisine

allezcuisine

Posted
Posted

Hi Everyone,

I hope this isn't too off-topic. I'm hosting an online event on Friday, February 11th called Sugar High Fridays, where our theme will be puff pastry. You're all invited to make and write about a dessert made with puff pastry. The following day I'll write a round-up linking to everyone's delicious creations.

You can either post your entry on your website, or you can send it to me and I'll host it on my food blog. More details about the event can be found here.

I hope that many of you can join us; I'm always amazed at what people come up with! We usually have about 20-25 entries from around the world, but only a couple of us are from Canada.

Clement

www.alacuisine.org

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