"Making Artisan Chocolates" by Andrew Shotts

[prairiegirl]

Just a quick suggestion. When you want the invert sugar etc. and don't want to buy a huge quantity. Try going to a bakery or pattiserrie and ask if they could sell you 250 ml or whatever it is you need.

[prairiegirl]

Getting back to an earlier posting about corn syrup...glucose. At the grocery store I can buy a 250mL bottle of corn syrup. when I go to Michaels they sell that small tub of glucose which in small print has "corn syrup" My question is: Does the glucose tub at Michaels have less water content than the bottle of Lily White Corn syrup at the grocery store?

Second question is in regards to Sqwerls post about invert sugar Nuveline(? possibly misspelled!) Which is better to use: corn syrup or the invert sugar?

Hey I finally got my book! oh yeah, oh yeah!!!

[alanamoana]

while for the most part, corn syrup and glucose can be used interchangeably in recipes calling for one or the other...it is my understanding that invert sugar (known by name brands: trimoline, nuvoline, etc.) cannot be used in place of corn syrup or glucose. it is a different ingredient which will give you different results.

[Desiderio]

Different sweetness also if I recall correct.The thicken glucose/corn syrup is also less sweet the more fluid is sweeter.

Edited April 8, 2007 by Desiderio (log)

[prairiegirl]

I have bought some "Bernardin" Pectin to use for now. Will this work for my fruit pate's? I will purchase some G pectin down the road but for now I just want to monkey around with some of the recipes. This is a Canadian product.

[prairiegirl]

I have my own answer. I found out the hard way. The Bernardin pectin won't work as it does not contain any calcium. I did find some Pomona Uiversal Pectin today and will use it soon.

[Ylee]

Quite a few of the ganache recipes call for small amounts of cocoa butter (about 1/4 oz.). Since cocoa butter is not easy to source in Australia, can I simply sub a bit of heavy cream for the cocoa butter, or just leave it out altogether? I realise that either way, there will be a change in the texture of the final product. Would it be worth my while trying to track down some cocoa butter? Cheers.

←

Hi! I'm from Sydney as well, and get my cocoa butter in 850g tubs. I order mine through a company called Deshel, but I think you can also get the same from stores like Essential Ingredient (in Crows Nest).

[Stuckey]

Yeah, cheers! I got my cocoa butter from Chef's Warehouse in Surry Hills. Mine came in an 850g tub too, so I'm pretty sure we've both got the same product!

[gnuf]

Has anyone tried making the peppered pineapple using a recipe substituting Pomona's Universal pectin, similar to what was discussed for the strawberry-balsamic chocolates many posts back? I know gelatin won't set when there's fresh pineapple, don't know if pectin is adversely affected.

[choux]

So I had some leftover marshmallow from last week (don't forget to grease the parchment!!) and I cut it up to make the Rocky Rhode bars. They are so good!. Only one little hitch, I don't see how 35g of graham crumbs and 35g of PB ganache should cover the bottom of an 8" pan! Unless it was supposed to be paper thin. I doubled the amount and managed to cover the bottom. Drew, if you're still watching this thread, was the amount printed in the book correct?

I love using the g pectin, it makes the gelee the perfect texture every time. My latest favourite is passionfruit with a milk chocolate ganache.

Edited August 19, 2007 by choux (log)

[FWED]

I have a couple of questions for Andrew Shotts. I am trying some of the ganaches from you book and today I did the Lemon grass - coconut ganach. It called for 1 tablespoon of Mojito flavored liqueur. I live in Washington state and the liquor board here controls the types of liquor that we can purchase and I could not find a mojito flavored liqueur. Is there a brand name or trade name for this or could you recommend a substitute? I can get coconut flavored rum and used that but it may not be the same. Any help with this would be appreciated. Fred

[tammylc]

In one of the recipes, he suggests using dark rum as a replacement if you can't find the Mojito liqueurs. Mojitos have lime, rum and mint, so coconut rum wouldn't be an equivalent replacement, although it might still taste good!

[mrose]

Marti make a Mojito rum. You might be able to get it at a large liquor store in a big city. That's what I had to do.

[duckduck]

Marti is what Drew told me to use.

http://www.beveragewarehouse.com/search/mo...hp?item_id=5333

[Chris Hennes]

Way "back in the day" duckduck wrote:

The mango mint coriander was really nice. It doesn't scream mango but the three flavors work really well together. It's nice and delicate.

←

I just got this book today and was thinking of having a go at these when my molds arrive next week: I really like mango, and like Greweling's technique of using pureé that has reduced by half. Do you think that doing that in this case would work to give more mango flavor, maybe with a slight modification to the amount of cream to account for the water missing from the pureé? I know, I'm probably not advanced enough to be making modifications to recipes yet... oh, well... that has never stopped me before!

[Kerry Beal]

To get good mango flavour I start with the puree, add some of either freeze dried mango or a Phillipine powdered mango mixture I have, plus a bit of mango compound. And a bit of citric acid.

[Chris Hennes]

Where do you get the powder? Maybe available at an Asian foods store? The citric acid is a good idea - thanks.

[Kerry Beal]

I get it from an asian store. It comes in mango and calamansi flavours.

[Chris Hennes]

OK, now I'm looking for a source for habañero oil -- is this just a "hot sauce" type product, or is it more like an extract of habañero? I'm going to make a quick batch of hand-rolled truffles while I'm waiting for this mold to arrive... I'm impatient .

[mrose]

I have made these using a hot chili oil. I also have infusec olive oil with cut up habaneros. They both worked fine. Might have to add a couple extra drops to get a good bite.

BTW wasn't the recipe from Greweling.

[Chris Hennes]

Greweling's got a recipe for "Habanos" which use a whole habañero infused in the cream. It is Shotts who uses the oil (I can't recall the name he gives his truffle off the top of my head).

[tammylc]

Chris - I think the point of using the oil is to address the consistency issue you had with your batch of Habanos - when you use fresh habaneros, the level of heat can vary quite dramatically from batch to batch. A habanero (or other chile) oil will let you reproduce results exactly from time to time. So if you're in a rush to make your truffles, you could just infuse your cream with habanero and take your chances, rather than looking for the oil.

[Chris Hennes]

Yeah, I'm definitely in favor of using the oils, I am just wondering what the stuff *is*. In the image in the book it looks like a nearly-perfectly clear liquid, which certainly does not describe the various "hot-sauce" type products, or even "hot oil" type products, I have seen. That, and the local Wegman's was out of habañeros last night. Doh!

[mrose]

Chris I have made both of them, spacing out on recipes & source.

Wasn't impressed with Habanero from Greweling. Might have to let cream steep for a longer time.

The South of the Border, I have made with both hot chili oil & habanero oil that I made. I believe that color of the oil will change with the source of the infused ingrediant. The habanero oil i made is just a bit darker than the olive oil used (been sitting for a couple of months now). The hardest part of making the truffle is chopping the pinneapple small enough. Not sure if bite at end comes from habanero oil or the chili powder used to decorate (would change with different types of chili powder available. I like the taste very much & would consider using them in truffles that I sell.

Had a problem getting a sharp focus.

Edited January 11, 2008 by mrose (log)

[tammylc]

A quick Google search turned up instructions for making your own, but not a commercial supplier.