Fruit Purée in Chocolates

[sote23]

it is a great book as it discusses a lot of the technical stuff regarding water activity and preservation techniques with chocolate.

of the ingredients in the recipes, you'll need to have invert sugar on hand.

he does really good demos as well.  i think he's doing a class at the french pastry school in december(?) this year.

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i looked it up, it's the 7-9 of November. I'm seriously thinking of going. anyone else thinking of going to this? It would be great to meet some forum members in person.

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I was going , but I have decided that go to visit my family has the priority at this moment , and cant afford both .Maybe next year hopefully , I am looking into a class with Norman Love as well , I sent them an email and told me that they will let me know when the next classes are.Good luck , I am sure you will have a lots of fun

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maybe next time vanessa

[sote23]

i looked it up, it's the 7-9 of November. I'm seriously thinking of going. anyone else thinking of going to this? It would be great to meet some forum members in person.

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I believe that David J. may have said he was going.

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cool, i will check with him.

[Sebastian]

Invertase is how you get the liquid centres in the chocolate covered cherries.  You start with fondant, add the invertase and once enclosed in chocolate the invertase converts the solid sugar to liquid.

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i see, then it wouldn't be good for a ganache then. if you use a smaller amount, will it stay solid?

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Sote - i use it in ganache all the time w/out it causing a significant texture change. that could, of course, be due to the fact taht the ganache rarely sits around for more than a week 8-)

[sote23]

Invertase is how you get the liquid centres in the chocolate covered cherries.  You start with fondant, add the invertase and once enclosed in chocolate the invertase converts the solid sugar to liquid.

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i see, then it wouldn't be good for a ganache then. if you use a smaller amount, will it stay solid?

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Sote - i use it in ganache all the time w/out it causing a significant texture change. that could, of course, be due to the fact taht the ganache rarely sits around for more than a week 8-)

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that's great to hear. my only other concern is if it's safe? are there any harsh chemicals in it?

[Patrick S]

Invertase is how you get the liquid centres in the chocolate covered cherries.  You start with fondant, add the invertase and once enclosed in chocolate the invertase converts the solid sugar to liquid.

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i see, then it wouldn't be good for a ganache then. if you use a smaller amount, will it stay solid?

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Sote - i use it in ganache all the time w/out it causing a significant texture change. that could, of course, be due to the fact taht the ganache rarely sits around for more than a week 8-)

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that's great to hear. my only other concern is if it's safe? are there any harsh chemicals in it?

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Invertase is a natural enzyme whose only action (so far as we know) is to break down sucrose into fructose and glucose (which happens to all the sucrose you ingest anyway). It is naturally present in honey, and I'm not aware of any health risks at all associated with its use.

[sote23]

Invertase is how you get the liquid centres in the chocolate covered cherries.  You start with fondant, add the invertase and once enclosed in chocolate the invertase converts the solid sugar to liquid.

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i see, then it wouldn't be good for a ganache then. if you use a smaller amount, will it stay solid?

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Sote - i use it in ganache all the time w/out it causing a significant texture change. that could, of course, be due to the fact taht the ganache rarely sits around for more than a week 8-)

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that's great to hear. my only other concern is if it's safe? are there any harsh chemicals in it?

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Invertase is a natural enzyme whose only action (so far as we know) is to break down sucrose into fructose and glucose (which happens to all the sucrose you ingest anyway). It is naturally present in honey, and I'm not aware of any health risks at all associated with its use.

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thanks patrick.i will give it a try.

[patsikes]

I also use invertase in our truffle ganache. In the dark and milk ganache's, it does not change the texture or viscosity much at all. In the white ganache however it does tend to soften, probably due to more sugar in white chocolate.

We get six weeks shelf life out of our truffles...which doing wholesale, many retailers want 3 months... (aka Godiva...yuck!)

[sote23]

I also use invertase in our truffle ganache.  In the dark and milk ganache's, it does not change the texture or viscosity much at all.  In the white ganache however it does tend to soften, probably due to more sugar in  white chocolate.

We get six weeks shelf life out of our truffles...which doing wholesale, many retailers want 3 months... (aka Godiva...yuck!)

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patrick,

3 months, yuck is right. how much invertase is used typically?

[Desiderio]

Use 2 to 5gr per 1000gr.Its best used between 60 and 70 C ( 140/158 F ).

The Hp value must be between 3.8 and 5.2.

[Desiderio]

I also use invertase in our truffle ganache.  In the dark and milk ganache's, it does not change the texture or viscosity much at all.  In the white ganache however it does tend to soften, probably due to more sugar in  white chocolate.

We get six weeks shelf life out of our truffles...which doing wholesale, many retailers want 3 months... (aka Godiva...yuck!)

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How did you arrive to the 6 weeks calculation shelf life?I mean just keep a batch and test it after a while or its just a standard number?

Thank you

[escry]

I am experimented with invertase. Firstly by adding it to the ganache as mentioned above, and secondly by adding it to the chocolate first before making the ganache. Let me explain ...

Melt chocolate to as close to 60 degrees Celsius as your chocolate will allow and hold at this temperature. (As mentioned 60 degrees is the optimum temperature for the action of invertase).

Prepare 5% water for the sucrose at the same temperature as the chocolate (important). (Invertase requires water to split sucrose into glucose and fructose, about 5% weight to sucrose by mass - I have tried adding more water, but 5% works best).

To the water add some invertase (how much depends on the strength of the invertase preparation you are using - mine is 2,400 standard units - 1 SU will invert 1 mg of sucrose in 5 minutes at 20°C and pH 4.7). I add 1g invertase to each kg of couverture. All the sucrose will be inverted in between 9 and 13 hours depending on the quantity of sucrose in the couverture (assuming between 64% to 75% cocoa).

As I said, I am experimenting, so have yet to do controlled comparison over time between a ganache without invertase, a ganache with invetase, and a ganache made from chocolate inverted by invertase.

[sote23]

I also use invertase in our truffle ganache.  In the dark and milk ganache's, it does not change the texture or viscosity much at all.  In the white ganache however it does tend to soften, probably due to more sugar in  white chocolate.

We get six weeks shelf life out of our truffles...which doing wholesale, many retailers want 3 months... (aka Godiva...yuck!)

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i like that it doesn't change the texture much, but does it change the flavor? when i use invert sugar, it makes it too sweet for my liking.

[Desiderio]

I am experimented with invertase. Firstly by adding it to the ganache as mentioned above, and secondly by adding it to the chocolate first before making the ganache. Let me explain ...

Melt chocolate to as close to 60 degrees Celsius as your chocolate will allow and hold at this temperature. (As mentioned 60 degrees is the optimum temperature for the action of invertase).

Prepare 5% water for the sucrose at the same temperature as the chocolate (important). (Invertase requires water to split sucrose into glucose and fructose, about 5% weight to sucrose by mass - I have tried adding more water, but 5% works best).

To the water add some invertase (how much depends on the strength of the invertase preparation you are using - mine is 2,400 standard units - 1 SU will invert 1 mg of sucrose in 5 minutes at  20°C and pH 4.7). I add 1g invertase to each kg of couverture. All the sucrose will be inverted in between 9 and 13 hours depending on the quantity of sucrose in the couverture (assuming between 64% to 75% cocoa).

As I said, I am experimenting, so have yet to do controlled comparison over time between a ganache without invertase, a ganache with invetase, and a ganache made from chocolate inverted by invertase.

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Mostly interesting this experimenting ,thank you for sharing it .I just got some invertase and I havent try it yet , I have several orders next week and probably give it a try .I think I am going to stay with adding it to the ganache like I do with the invert sugar for now, I want to keep a sample of all the chocolates I will be making next week and see how they react with time in a few weeks frame.

[escry]

Adding invertase to your ganache will not make your ganache noticeably sweeter than the ganache with no invertase (and no invert sugar). One molecule of glucose plus one molecule of fructose is meant to be about 120% of the sweetness of the one molecule of sucrose from which they were created.

However invert sugar, which is basically what you are creating, does taste slightly different - to me my ganache has a noticeable taste of glucose.

I much prefer adding invertase to adding additional (invert) sugar.

The invertase itself has no taste. It is also not classed as a preservative. Indeed, if you were to use imobilised invertase to invert the sucrose within your chocolate first, then invertase would not be an ingredient in your final product and should not be listed.

Edited May 31, 2006 by escry (log)

[sote23]

Adding invertase to your ganache will not make your ganache noticeably sweeter than the ganache with no invertase (and no invert sugar). One molecule of glucose plus one molecule of fructose is meant to be about 120% of the sweetness of the one molecule of sucrose from which they were created.

However invert sugar, which is basically what you are creating, does taste slightly different - to me my ganache has a noticeable taste of glucose.

I much prefer adding invertase to adding additional (invert) sugar.

The invertase itself has no taste. It is also not classed as a preservative. Indeed, if you were to use imobilised invertase to invert the sucrose within your chocolate first, then invertase would not be an ingredient in your final product and should not be listed.

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thanks for the help. that's exactly what i'm looking for. i don't want the flavor changed, but do want an extended shelf life, which this looks like it will provide.

[patsikes]

Sorry for the late reply on this thread. Two weeks of vacation and prepping for our first day at the Farmer's Market have killed me.

I add about 1/8 t to a ganache made with 1 lb of chocolate. I normally add it after the ganache has been completed while it is at about 80 degrees F. I am interested in the comment above that state it should be used at 140/158 F.

So I sounds like I should be adding it to my slightly cooled cream before I pour over the shopped chocolates?

As for flavor, I d not notice any change in sweetness from a ganache with or without... Nor can my wife who has a great pallet. Could this be because it is actually not active?

[Patrick S]

How would using invertase produce an end result any different than what you get using invert sugar? Invertase just inverts the sucrose already present in the ganache, so the end result is the same as just using invert sugar to start with, right?

[Sebastian]

W/o looking at the specs for the product, I might be hesitant to add invertase to something that's 158F - that's pretty warm. From a background of lots of other biological enzyme work (used to be a genetic engineer), i'd be afraid you're going to inactivate the enzyme at those temperatures. There are enzymes that are extracted from thermophiles that can handle those types of temperatures, but - and again i'm not positive - but i'd not think this would be one of them...if the enzyme has been inactivated, it's not going to do anything.

[escry]

Patrick

Adding invert sugar increases the sweetness of a ganache, whereas adding invertase converts the constituent sucrose of the chocolate so does not (significantly) add to the sweetness of ganache.

To compensate for the added sweetness of invert sugar one can always use a less sweet chocolate.

I prefer invertase as I choose the chocolate first (and wish the consumer to taste the chocolate first), and only add very subtle infusions of flavour.

Though there are many great chocolates out there, many of the very best are around the 65% to 75% cocoa level, and are perfected blended and balanced with respect to sugar. To my taste, adding invert sugar to such ganaches destroys this balance.

[Patrick S]

Patrick

Adding invert sugar increases the sweetness of a ganache, whereas adding invertase converts the constituent sucrose of the chocolate so does not (significantly) add to the sweetness of ganache.

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Sorry, I still don't get the distinction.

Invert sugar is sucrose that has been split by intervtase into equal parts glucose and fructose. Invertase is an enzyme that splits sucrose into fructose and glucose.

In the first case you are adding sucrose that has already been inverted.

In the second case you are adding an enzyme that will invert the sugar.

The only reason that invert sugar is sweeter is because of the free fructose (which is sweeter than sucrose), and when the invertase you add to the chocolate breaks down sucrose, it will also create free fructose, which should make the chocolate sweeter just like it would if you started with invert sugar to begin with.

[escry]

If I take 1kg of 70% cocoa couverture and create a ganche by adding 1kg cream and nothing else, then my resultant ganche will have 300g sucrose (and about 30g lactose).

If I then choose to add about 8% invert sugar, I will add approximately 80g glucose and 80g fructose. The whole ganache (2,160g) will now contain 300g sucrose plus 80g glucose plus 80g fructose plus 30g lactose, ie 490g sugars or 22.7% sugars.

If however I make a ganache with 1,080g of the same couverture and 1,080g cream and convert the constituent sugars of the couverture with 1g of invertase, then the resultant ganache (2,160g) will have 162g glucose plus 162g fructose and 33g lactose, ie 357g sugars or 16.5% sugars.

Both ganaches use the same couverture, but the second is less sweet.

I'll leave it to the chemist to say if theoretically 300g sucrose plus 80g glucose plus 80g fructose plus 30g lactose (ganache 1) has greater humicant properties than 162g glucose plus 162g fructose and 33g lactose (ganache 2). In my experience both add an extra week of shelf life with respect to bacterial/mold growth and, more importantly, avoid drying out of the bonbon over time.

[Patrick S]

Ok, NOW I see what you're saying. Its monday, and I'm a little slow on the uptake. So, the advantage of invertase is that you can invert the sugar that's already present in the chocolate, rather than adding more (invert) sugar.

[patsikes]

Yep. As stated above, I cannot tell a difference in my dark and milk ganaches. However there is so much sugar in our white that it does get a bit sweeter....

[escry]

Yep.  As stated above, I cannot tell a difference in my dark and milk ganaches.  However there is so much sugar in our white that it does get a bit sweeter....

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Patrick, I am not sure whether, (1) as you stated in your earlier thread, that the lack of additional sweetness having added invertase to your ganaches is a sign of the invertase not working. Or (2) whether you regret the added sweetness to your white chocolate ganache.

(1) Adding invertase should not perceptably increase the sweetness of a ganache. However, to my taste such a ganache does acquire a slight taste of glucose. Whatever, invertase takes some time to act. In my early days of experimenting with invertase, I made two otherwise identical sheets of ganache, adding 1g of 2,400 SU invertase per 1kg of couverture to just one. I cut these sheets, but left some squares unenrobed. These squares I checked every few days. The ones with invertase did not dry out as quickly or as completely.

(2) White chocolate has so much sugar and milk powder, and requires less added moisture (lower ratio of cream to chocolate), that it does not really require any measures to prolong shelf life (with respect to similarly dark chocolate ganaches). If adding invertase increases sweetness, consider not adding any invertase or invert sugar.

[sote23]

Patrick

Adding invert sugar increases the sweetness of a ganache, whereas adding invertase converts the constituent sucrose of the chocolate so does not (significantly) add to the sweetness of ganache.

To compensate for the added sweetness of invert sugar one can always use a less sweet chocolate.

I prefer invertase as I choose the chocolate first (and wish the consumer to taste the chocolate first), and only add very subtle infusions of flavour.

Though there are many great chocolates out there, many of the very best are around the 65% to 75% cocoa level, and are perfected blended and balanced with respect to sugar. To my taste, adding invert sugar to such ganaches destroys this balance.

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I agree. I've read that invert sugar doesn't add sweetness to the ganache, but it most definatly does. yes, it does destroy the balance, and changes the ganache completly. I personally don't like using it. i haven't tried invertase as of yet, so i can't comment.