Sunday, January 31, 2010

Truffle's Anyone?

Yesterday, Judy and I attended a truffle workshop in Boston.  I have to say, I was amazed when she said she would go with me since this did not have anything to do with golf, tennis, eating out or drinking good wine.  She does, however, enjoy a good piece of chocolate every once in a while.  And when I say "a piece", that's what she has - just one piece.  I've never met another person who can eat just one little piece of chocolate and move on.....

I already have a great recipe for truffles and planned on making them today as one of my "tastes" for the 1st Annual Taste of Malden being held tomorrow night but wanted to see what was out there.  It was fun and it's always good to learn something new!  We had a lesson in the history of the cocoa bean and learned the difference between good and bad chocolate.  We used a good artisen chocolate which means it would only last approximately one month.  Like that would be an issue in my house?  You will need to melt (temper) the chocolate to about 100 degrees F.  and make sure you do not let it go higher or it could burn and have a bad taste.  Tempering is all about time, temperature and motion.  I have a cool candy thermometer to ensure you get it right.  CDN TCG400 Professional Candy & Deep Fry Thermometer  Once you get it there, add pieces of chocolate to lower the temperature to a perfect 90 degrees F. 

To make the ganache for the truffles, you use a combination of semisweet (that's what I like, but you can also use bittersweet) chocolate and heavy cream.  Stop making faces, that's what makes it so, so good!  To that, you add what makes you happy.  I have used peppermint oil and roll the truffles in crushed peppermint, kaluha and cocoa powder is yummy and yesterday I made truffles with raspberry jam and cassis and I rolled them in crushed almonds.  They were great!

When you attend any class, there is always at least one thing you come away remembering.  For me it was "air is the enemy in making ganache".  You want to melt the chocolate with a soft, stiring motion to keep it smooth and when it's at the right temperature, let it set.  The chef today said truffles should be small wonderful bite size pieces, but of course, I always end up making mine large.  I'll keep trying......

fino a quel momento (until that time)

Lid

No comments:

Post a Comment