Fruit Purée in Chocolates

[Jim D.]

I am interested in trying a layered praline with one layer being made just of puréed fruit (dried apricots, for example)--as opposed to pate de fruit, which is so sweet.  A quick consideration would suggest that this purée would have a low water content and therefore a long shelf life, but I'm not certain.  There would not be any of the traditional additives that decrease water activity--such as invert sugar or glucose--as they would add to the sweetness and defeat the goal of having a tart fruit layer to contrast with the other layer (some sort of chocolate).  I could add brandy.  Would adding a little cocoa butter help?

 

I would be interested in anybody's knowledge--or opinions--on the water activity issue.

[curls]

How much of a shelf life would you like to get out of these bon bons? Some thoughts...

If they are for immediate consumption, you should be fine.

You could also try freezing the finished bon bon and bringing it back to room temperature when you are ready to serve them.

Also, you could try adding more lemon juice or citric acid to your pate de fruit to counter the sweetness.

Additional idea, purchase a water activity meter (Kerry and Ruth have them).

Edited April 22, 2014 by curls (log)

[Edward J]

For me:
Dried cherries and couverture as a filling with absoluelty nothing else, 9 mths.  That's my shelf life that I stamp on the packaging. 

 

But then...

I have had stores "request" for a refund with my product that sat on shelves in a warehouse for well over 6 mths past the expiry date, so well over a year and a half. I was curious, HAD to see how it fared after a year and a half.  Filling was fine, a little dried out, but fine.  And no, I didn't give them any refund...

 

Remember, with booze at 40 or 50% alcohol content, only 40 or 50% is pure booze.  The other half is water.....

[Jim D.]

How much of a shelf life would you like to get out of these bon bons? Some thoughts...

If they are for immediate consumption, you should be fine.

 

 

 

For me:

Dried cherries and couverture as a filling with absoluelty nothing else, 9 mths.  That's my shelf life that I stamp on the packaging. 

 

Curls and Edward:

Thanks for the replies.  I guess I am trying to understand why puréed fruit by itself would have a somewhat short shelf life.  In the case of using commercial purées, instructions usually say to reduce them to remove some of the water.  In the case I am describing (putting dried apricots in a food processor), there is considerably less water involved to start with.  Is the fact that I would not be using any chocolate--with the sugar it contains--the main reason there would be an issue?

 

I am looking for a 2-3 week shelf life.  I have a lot of people who stretch out their boxes of chocolates by eating one a day, so I can't have any realistic expectation that they would refrigerate the apricot pieces or eat them first.  I made a dipped piece recently decorated with a sliver of glacéed apricot, and the apricot piece remains fine after several weeks--though I must confess I'm not sure how obvious molded apricot would be.

[Edward J]

Dried fruit (i.e. dried cherries, figs, cranberries, raisins etc) typically have a moisture content of under 12%.  They are shelf stable for at least two years.

 

The garnish you describe should not go mouldy, but might dry out.  You can combat this by lightly brushing the fruit garnish with gum Arabic or cocoa butter. 

 

However, if you think a food processor is adequate to chop or puree dried fruit, you will need a food processor with a turbo-charged 10 HP motor and a blade made of re-purposed Samuri swords forged by mythical smiths.....

 

I use a meat grinder.....

[Jim D.]

I recently ground Sunsweet brand apricots in a (very old) Cuisinart with no difficulty.  It wasn't a totally smooth purée, but it was the texture I wanted.  Admittedly Sunsweet apricots come in a fairly moist state.

[keychris]

Remember, with booze at 40 or 50% alcohol content, only 40 or 50% is pure booze.  The other half is water.....

 

yes, but the alcohol has an anti-microbial effect, doesn't it? So if you have alcohol in there, you can have a higher aW?

[Edward J]

Pure alcohol (99-100%) does.  The 40 and 50% booze doesn't do diddly squat to increase shelf life.  D.A.M.H.I.K.T. .....

[Kerry Beal]

Wybauw states if 18% of the water component is alcohol then it has a pretty much unlimited shelf life.

[Edward J]

Yes, but you have to factor in the water content in cream (67-ish%) water content in fruit purees, water content in the butter (18-ish %) and any water content in the corn syrup, honey, or other sweetener or invert sugar.  Add to the fact that if you use 50% alcohol, 50% is still water, and you have a lot of figuring and balancing to do.  One way is to use 100% alcohol, but this doesn't give you a nice flavour (whiskey, eau de vies, coffee, rum, etc)

 

In his third book Wybauw didn't discuss alcohol much, but went into great detail about balancing formulas using glycerin and all the "Weird-ol's"--- sugars with names ending in "ol".

 

In the end I gave up, implemented a 3 week shelf life on bon-bons with cream ganaches, and used dried fruit, nuts, and caramels in the wholesale items with 9 mth shelf lives.   Life became a lot easier after that.... 

 

One caveat about seeking the holy grail of long shelf life with cream based ganaches:  Just because you can formulate a long shelf life doesn't mean that the flavours of the ganache won't change over time.  They do, and most of them aren't what you started out with.....

[Kerry Beal]

 

 

One caveat about seeking the holy grail of long shelf life with cream based ganaches:  Just because you can formulate a long shelf life doesn't mean that the flavours of the ganache won't change over time.  They do, and most of them aren't what you started out with.....

Exactly!

[Jim D.]

Even though I would love to have an aW meter, the cost is just too much (I think).  It's an expensive piece of equipment just to find out if puréed apricots are going to kill those who eat my pralines.  I get really concerned, though, when people tell me, in February, "Oh, I've still got some of your chocolates from Christmas; they are so delicious."  I suspect your average tastebuds can't tell when a filling has deteriorated in flavor especially since they don't have the original for comparison.

 

At this point I'm thinking Edward is right: "In the end I gave up, implemented a 3 week shelf life on bon-bons with cream ganaches."  The issue for me is that the 3 weeks (or whatever period of time is selected) has to include making the ganache, assembling the bon-bon, and getting the product to the customer.  I'm leaning toward a notice that says something like "These chocolates, which contain no preservatives, are best stored between 55 and 70 degrees F. and consumed within two weeks of receipt. For longer storage, they should be refrigerated, then brought to room temperature before consuming."  Do you think that covers it?

[Kerry Beal]

Do some studies of letting them sit at room temperature and at refrigerator temp - testing every week to see when the quality falls off.  

[curls]

For peace of mind, you could keep a few of the chocolates that you give as gifts and test them periodically for mold and for taste. For my own tests I have kept some ganache filled chocolates at room temperature for months and I only had mold issues once (with a yuzu ganache). I tend to do this with each new filling type that I make (maybe one day I will get a water activity meter but a guitar cutter is higher on the list). The flavor definitely deteriorates... much faster for some fillings than for others. Definitely let people know that your chocolates don't contain perservatives and they are best enjoyed soon after receiving them or as Edward suggested stick with dried fruits, caramels, nougats, etc..

[Jim D.]

Curls,

We are on the same wave length:  I too have a guitar at the top of my list (roughly same cost as aW meter).  Sorry to hear about yuzu--that is my new favorite flavoring.

[curls]

Jim D, yuzu should be fine for a ganache... I just need to tweak my recipe (calculations must have been off).