Cooking with "Chocolates and Confections" by Peter Greweling (Part 1)

[Kerry Beal]

I have a curiosity question, what's wrong with Hershy's chocolate? I want to just get some cheap stuff to practice with and don't want to wait for an order to come in and there are 1 pound blocks on sale here. I know it's not the "good stuff", so how would I have to adjust the recipe?

PS, I am going to break down and order a marble block from sur la table after a month of rejection on the phone...LOL

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I can't help much with the Hershey question, although I suspect it might not be what we consider coverture chocolate and might not mold as well as you hope. If you have a Walmart close by get some of the big bars they sell under the Watermark (I think that's it) name. It's quality french and belgian coverture chocolate, quite inexpensive and tasty. Should work until you get an order of chocolate.

Why not go to a place that makes marble and granite counter tops and get a sink cutout to use as a slab? The price is right, it can be a bit bigger than the standard marble slab, just doesn't have finished edges.

[Kerry Beal]

I also did some soft caramel filled milk chocolates (not a Greweling recipe) but thought I'd ask here ... some of them were in temper - some not ... same chocolate, same mould, right next to each other?  what did I do wrong?!?!  Once again - doing them fast using the fridge, so did some cool faster than others?

(hope the pictures worked!)

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Love the 'hot crossed chocolates'! It's so much fun to come up with ideas like that.

Re the milk temper - were you scraping chocolate from the sides of your bowl into the molds? I've had something similar happen when I've been trying to get by with a small quantity of tempered chocolate. The chocolate on the sides of the bowl will be a bit out of temper (or I might even have overheated the sides and driven it out of temper) I don't mix it in well with the other chocolate, so some molds get out of temper chocolate and others don't.

The other question would concern the molds - are they clean and polished or might there have been some residual clumpy cocoa butter inside that might have caused this to happen?

[tammylc]

I have a curiosity question, what's wrong with Hershy's chocolate? I want to just get some cheap stuff to practice with and don't want to wait for an order to come in and there are 1 pound blocks on sale here. I know it's not the "good stuff", so how would I have to adjust the recipe?

PS, I am going to break down and order a marble block from sur la table after a month of rejection on the phone...LOL

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I don't know where you're located, but around here you can find 1 lb blocks of Callebaut in nearly every supermarket. It's not my favorite chocolate, but it is likely better tasting than Hershey's, and less likely to be adulterated by non-cocoa butter fats which would affect your tempering.

[tammylc]

LucyinAust - I second Kerry in the love of the Hot Cross chocolates! Very clever idea.

[LucyInAust]

Thanks Kerry for the suggestions ... it was a smaller amount of chocolate I was trying to temper - and my first time with that particular chocolate ... will work on mixing the chocolate better ... and I think I need to allow more time to make my chocs rather than hurrying them along in the fridge!

I was thinking for next year I might put some dried fruit soaked in alcohol in the ganache to make it even more hot cross bun like!

[Kerry Beal]

Thanks Kerry for the suggestions ... it was a smaller amount of chocolate I was trying to temper - and my first time with that particular chocolate ... will work on mixing the chocolate better ... and I think I need to allow more time to make my chocs rather than hurrying them along in the fridge!

I was thinking for next year I might put some dried fruit soaked in alcohol in the ganache to make it even more hot cross bun like!

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Reminds me of the 'Figgy Pudding' truffles that I make from the Gerard Ronay Chocolate Kit. Uses candied fruits soaked in red wine, some fig preserves, peppercorns.

[Tri2Cook]

So today I made a ganache with 200g of 70%, 120ml of lemon thyme infused cream, 120ml of reduced smoked tomato puree (I made a lot of the puree for a different project but decided to reduce some of it and try it with chocolate), 30ml of glucose and 60ml of butter. It's dark, smokey and probably not for those who like their chocolate sweet but it's not bad. Now, since I'm the court jester of molding and dipping chocolates I have no idea what I'm going to do with it. Any ideas from the experts?

[Kerry Beal]

So today I made a ganache with 200g of 70%, 120ml of lemon thyme infused cream, 120ml of reduced smoked tomato puree (I made a lot of the puree for a different project but decided to reduce some of it and try it with chocolate), 30ml of glucose and 60ml of butter. It's dark, smokey and probably not for those who like their chocolate sweet but it's not bad. Now, since I'm the court jester of molding and dipping chocolates I have no idea what I'm going to do with it. Any ideas from the experts?

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I make a cake where you bake a single layer of chocolate cake, cut out the center and mix the crumbs with ganache (and finely ground expresso), put this mixture back into the hollowed out area, then cover with a chocolate glaze. Doesn't involve any molding or dipping.

I suspect something like this might show off your ganache. Or how about a chocolate tart shell, a layer of caramel and an layer of your ganache on top.

[Tri2Cook]

I like that cake idea Kerry! I think I'll try it with an olive oil cake. Thanks!

Edited March 24, 2008 by Tri2Cook (log)

[pringle007]

I did a Mushroom Balsamic chocolate as a special order around Xmas. They were not bad. A smoked tomato puree would be a good companion. Smoke Tomato and Mushroom Balsamic bon bons. Lets see Hersheys top that!

[LucyInAust]

Based on the Raspberry Truffle filling - I made "Raspberry Creams" ... I didn't have any raspberry liquer - so I added a bit of vodka and some powdered raspberries .... mmmm!!! Yum!! Also reduced the amount of white chocolate as I wanted a really soft gooey centre.

Very pleased with the outcome! They taste nicer warm (eg. 20 degC+) though, as they are softer. I had planned on some kind of decoration (glitter or colour) ... but set up the first lot of shells and realised I'd forgotten - oops! So they all got to be boring and plain!

[tammylc]

Those look gorgeous! Nice work!

[Kerry Beal]

At the request of my daughter's educational assistant I put together a batch of mint meltaways last night.

I melted the chocolate, added unmelted coconut oil, stirred and heated a bit to get all the oil to melt. I got called out at that point, so just left the mixture in the bowl. When I got home, it was starting to thicken up, so I gave it a stir and poured it into a silicone cake pan and left it to finish firming up. It was wonderfully smooth at this point.

This morning it was still a little soft, so I put it in the fridge for a little while and it firmed up nicely.

I put a foot of tempered chocolate on the bottom, cut it into squares, and when I tasted one of the squares a few minutes ago, noticed it was grainy rather than completly smooth.

Obviously I didn't follow the technique in the book, or the one that I've adapted by cooling it over ice water, so any thing could have gone wrong - I think the graininess is actually coconut fat globules.

Anyone else had a similar experience?

[gap]

Yep, that sounds like what happened to me as well. It still made a nice coconut eating chocolate though

[lilthorner]

I made my first molded candies using this book the other day at school. I had already made hand dipped truffles so my chef allowed me to pic somethign out of the book. I was going to try and make the passionfruit candy but I decided on chai as it was already available at school.

[Chris Hennes]

Has anyone made the pbj's on page 284? They look great and I definitely want to try them this week now that my wife is back in town and I have someone to feed . Stupid question, though: what is apple compote in this context? How does the fruit layer in this compare to the ones in Shotts' book? I only have g pectin right now, so I was debating using one of Shotts' recipes instead of Greweling's.

[Kerry Beal]

Has anyone made the pbj's on page 284? They look great and I definitely want to try them this week now that my wife is back in town and I have someone to feed . Stupid question, though: what is apple compote in this context? How does the fruit layer in this compare to the ones in Shotts' book? I only have g pectin right now, so I was debating using one of Shotts' recipes instead of Greweling's.

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Chris, the apple compote is basically just unsweetened applesauce boiled down to act as a source of pectin. You could substitute one of Shott's recipes with the G pectin if you don't have any apple pectin.

[Chris Hennes]

Has anyone made the pbj's on page 284? They look great and I definitely want to try them this week now that my wife is back in town and I have someone to feed . Stupid question, though: what is apple compote in this context? How does the fruit layer in this compare to the ones in Shotts' book? I only have g pectin right now, so I was debating using one of Shotts' recipes instead of Greweling's.

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Chris, the apple compote is basically just unsweetened applesauce boiled down to act as a source of pectin. You could substitute one of Shott's recipes with the G pectin if you don't have any apple pectin.

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Thanks, Kerry. The recipe calls for both the compote and pectin, so now I'm really confused... I think I will just pick up some pectin, but how much do I reduce the applesauce to result in "compote"?

[Kerry Beal]

Has anyone made the pbj's on page 284? They look great and I definitely want to try them this week now that my wife is back in town and I have someone to feed . Stupid question, though: what is apple compote in this context? How does the fruit layer in this compare to the ones in Shotts' book? I only have g pectin right now, so I was debating using one of Shotts' recipes instead of Greweling's.

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Chris, the apple compote is basically just unsweetened applesauce boiled down to act as a source of pectin. You could substitute one of Shott's recipes with the G pectin if you don't have any apple pectin.

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Thanks, Kerry. The recipe calls for both the compote and pectin, so now I'm really confused... I think I will just pick up some pectin, but how much do I reduce the applesauce to result in "compote"?

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Just make the sauce nice and thick, probably so if you run a spoon through it the sauce doesn't flow back into the groove (if that makes sense). Indeed you use both the compote and the apple pectin for his recipes.

It's not that easy to get apple pectin, but I think l'epicerie carries it.

[mrose]

Has anyone made the pbj's on page 284? They look great and I definitely want to try them this week now that my wife is back in town and I have someone to feed . Stupid question, though: what is apple compote in this context? How does the fruit layer in this compare to the ones in Shotts' book? I only have g pectin right now, so I was debating using one of Shotts' recipes instead of Greweling's.

←

Chris, the apple compote is basically just unsweetened applesauce boiled down to act as a source of pectin. You could substitute one of Shott's recipes with the G pectin if you don't have any apple pectin.

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Thanks, Kerry. The recipe calls for both the compote and pectin, so now I'm really confused... I think I will just pick up some pectin, but how much do I reduce the applesauce to result in "compote"?

←

Just make the sauce nice and thick, probably so if you run a spoon through it the sauce doesn't flow back into the groove (if that makes sense). Indeed you use both the compote and the apple pectin for his recipes.

It's not that easy to get apple pectin, but I think l'epicerie carries it.

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I found apple pectin in a market similar to Whole Foods in with the vitamins.

[Kerry Beal]

Has anyone made the pbj's on page 284? They look great and I definitely want to try them this week now that my wife is back in town and I have someone to feed . Stupid question, though: what is apple compote in this context? How does the fruit layer in this compare to the ones in Shotts' book? I only have g pectin right now, so I was debating using one of Shotts' recipes instead of Greweling's.

←

Chris, the apple compote is basically just unsweetened applesauce boiled down to act as a source of pectin. You could substitute one of Shott's recipes with the G pectin if you don't have any apple pectin.

←

Thanks, Kerry. The recipe calls for both the compote and pectin, so now I'm really confused... I think I will just pick up some pectin, but how much do I reduce the applesauce to result in "compote"?

←

Just make the sauce nice and thick, probably so if you run a spoon through it the sauce doesn't flow back into the groove (if that makes sense). Indeed you use both the compote and the apple pectin for his recipes.

It's not that easy to get apple pectin, but I think l'epicerie carries it.

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I found apple pectin in a market similar to Whole Foods in with the vitamins.

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I've wondered about that - is it a powdered form or in capsules?

[Chris Hennes]

It's not that easy to get apple pectin, but I think l'epicerie carries it.

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They do, and I wanted citric acid and lime oil anyway, so I went ahead and ordered it from them. Thanks for the tip.

[mrose]

I've wondered about that - is it a powdered form or in capsules?

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It was in powder form.

[Chris Hennes]

OK, I started in on the pbj's the other night, so first, let me express my appreciation for the "wet hands" technique of getting the glucose syrup out. Thanks, Kerry! It worked! It was great!

But I have a question: I don't think my little marble slab (12"x12") is big enough to table the gianduja. Should I table it on my laminate counter top, or is there another method I should use? The tabling is to induce crystallization, right? Like with fondant?

[Chris Hennes]

So I made the gianduja a few minutes ago, tabling on my laminate countertop until it cooled to room temperature, but I don't know if it worked right. First, room temperature right now is about 76 degrees F, so it's a little warm. Second, the photo of the pbj makes it look like the gianduja is pretty light: was it supposed to get lighter as I worked it? It did not. Last, I made a 2/3 batch to make sure I had enough (to fill 1/2 the area as the recipe calls for), and it was, but barely. So, should I have been working air into the gianjuda? On the upside, it tastes frickin' phenomenal!!