I mentioned recently that I've been making some orange
truffles that I'm really happy with. Everybody at work
liked them, too, but one guy took some home to his wife
who is an expert truffle maker and she said the darned
things are gritty! Haha! I know what she's talking
about. Although I thought that batch was smoother than
most, I've noticed just a slight grit to the centers.

I'm using good chocolate, Guittard's classic bittersweet,
so I don't think that is the problem. There could be
several reasons they have a grit to them, but I'm
thinking that most likely it's because I'm adding sugar
to the mix to take a little edge off the bittersweet.

I'm heating up 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream, stirring in
1/4 cup of sugar, and then turning the heat down to
just about nothing and adding 24 oz of chocolate.
Although that might seem like a lot of cream, the
higher percentage chocolate seems to require it. I
add half a stick of unsalted butter, too.

I have several questions:

1. Is the sugar most likely the reason for the grit?

2. If yes, is there a better way to sweeten it so that
I don't damage the truffle texture?

3. Is there some other reason it might be getting
gritty? I have mentioned that because I like the centers
soft, I have to refrigerate it quite a while (usually
overnight) to thicken it, and then I have to put it in
the freezer for about half an hour (but the last time
they might have been in there for several hours) after
I ball it up. Could this be making it grit?

4. It wouldn't be because of the orange liquer I add
to it, could it? I wouldn't think so.

5. I'm fairly careful about the temperature that I
bring the chocolate to. I don't think that's causing
the grit but I guess it could. I heat the cream to
almost boiling and then turn it down to practically
nothing, and I stir the chocolate in it constantly.

Thank you! Michael

"Michael" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> I mentioned recently that I've been making some orange
> truffles that I'm really happy with. Everybody at work
> liked them, too, but one guy took some home to his wife
> who is an expert truffle maker and she said the darned
> things are gritty! Haha! I know what she's talking
> about. Although I thought that batch was smoother than
> most, I've noticed just a slight grit to the centers.
>
> I'm using good chocolate, Guittard's classic bittersweet,
> so I don't think that is the problem. There could be
> several reasons they have a grit to them, but I'm
> thinking that most likely it's because I'm adding sugar
> to the mix to take a little edge off the bittersweet.
>
> I'm heating up 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream, stirring in
> 1/4 cup of sugar, and then turning the heat down to
> just about nothing and adding 24 oz of chocolate.
> Although that might seem like a lot of cream, the
> higher percentage chocolate seems to require it. I
> add half a stick of unsalted butter, too.
>
> I have several questions:
>
> 1. Is the sugar most likely the reason for the grit?
>
> 2. If yes, is there a better way to sweeten it so that
> I don't damage the truffle texture?
>
> 3. Is there some other reason it might be getting
> gritty? I have mentioned that because I like the centers
> soft, I have to refrigerate it quite a while (usually
> overnight) to thicken it, and then I have to put it in
> the freezer for about half an hour (but the last time
> they might have been in there for several hours) after
> I ball it up. Could this be making it grit?
>
> 4. It wouldn't be because of the orange liquer I add
> to it, could it? I wouldn't think so.
>
> 5. I'm fairly careful about the temperature that I
> bring the chocolate to. I don't think that's causing
> the grit but I guess it could. I heat the cream to
> almost boiling and then turn it down to practically
> nothing, and I stir the chocolate in it constantly.
>
> Thank you! Michael


Simply put Michael, if you want a sweeter center (though I would definitely
prefer the bittersweet myself), choose a sweeter chocolate. Use a semisweet
or maybe even a milk chocolate for the centers...though IMO, milk doesn't
work as well for truffles. Don't add sugar.

kimberly
>

My guess would be the sugar. If I want to take the edge off bittersweet
chocolate, then I substitute semi sweet chocolate for part of the
bittersweet in the recipe.

When I tried chocolate pots de creme once it was gritty and I found out
that the cream was too hot when I added the chocolate and that can also
make it gritty.

marcella

In article .com>,
"Michael" > wrote:

> I mentioned recently that I've been making some orange
> truffles that I'm really happy with. Everybody at work
> liked them, too, but one guy took some home to his wife
> who is an expert truffle maker and she said the darned
> things are gritty! Haha! I know what she's talking
> about. Although I thought that batch was smoother than
> most, I've noticed just a slight grit to the centers.
>
> I'm using good chocolate, Guittard's classic bittersweet,
> so I don't think that is the problem. There could be
> several reasons they have a grit to them, but I'm
> thinking that most likely it's because I'm adding sugar
> to the mix to take a little edge off the bittersweet.
>
> I'm heating up 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream, stirring in
> 1/4 cup of sugar, and then turning the heat down to
> just about nothing and adding 24 oz of chocolate.
> Although that might seem like a lot of cream, the
> higher percentage chocolate seems to require it. I
> add half a stick of unsalted butter, too.
>
> I have several questions:
>
> 1. Is the sugar most likely the reason for the grit?
>
> 2. If yes, is there a better way to sweeten it so that
> I don't damage the truffle texture?
>
> 3. Is there some other reason it might be getting
> gritty? I have mentioned that because I like the centers
> soft, I have to refrigerate it quite a while (usually
> overnight) to thicken it, and then I have to put it in
> the freezer for about half an hour (but the last time
> they might have been in there for several hours) after
> I ball it up. Could this be making it grit?
>
> 4. It wouldn't be because of the orange liquer I add
> to it, could it? I wouldn't think so.
>
> 5. I'm fairly careful about the temperature that I
> bring the chocolate to. I don't think that's causing
> the grit but I guess it could. I heat the cream to
> almost boiling and then turn it down to practically
> nothing, and I stir the chocolate in it constantly.
>
> Thank you! Michael

Thank you for your comments, Kimberly and Marcella. The cupboard
was getting low yesterday on sweets so I asked what everybody wanted
and the daughter said she wanted mint truffles. The Guittard
bittersweet
I use is not really a whole lot more bitter than some semisweet I've
used,
so I thought maybe I'd experiment and see what would happen if I left
out
the sugar. I had Amber taste the bittersweet and she said it was fine
as
is, so I didn't add sugar. It still developed a grainy look to it. To
be
honest, I can't feel the graininess in my mouth, but it sure looked
grainy.
It must be the situation you mentioned, Marcella, where the cream is
just too hot. This kinda surprises me and kinda doesn't. Haha. Make
up my mind, huh? Well, I find it surprising because one common method
for making truffles is to bring the cream to a boil and then take it
off the
stove and pour it over the chocolate. But then you're not supposed to
get the chocolate a lot more than about 115 degrees, and surely the
boiling cream is a lot hotter than that. The next time I do truffles,
I'm
going to use a thermometer and not let the cream get very hot.

In contrast to the grainy texture I got with the boiling cream and
choc-
olate, I melted some more chocolate with smooth peanut butter for a
coating for some peanut butter things, and it stayed incredibly smooth
the entire time.

Again, thank you for your comments!

Michael

at Sat, 12 Mar 2005 23:04:22 GMT in <1110668662.807462.248470
@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com>, (Michael) wrote :

>I mentioned recently that I've been making some orange
>truffles that I'm really happy with. Everybody at work
>liked them, too, but one guy took some home to his wife
>who is an expert truffle maker and she said the darned
>things are gritty!...
>
>... I'm
>thinking that most likely it's because I'm adding sugar
>to the mix to take a little edge off the bittersweet.
>I have several questions:
>
>1. Is the sugar most likely the reason for the grit?

It *is* the reason for the grit.

>
>2. If yes, is there a better way to sweeten it so that
>I don't damage the truffle texture?

Use a sweeter chocolate. If you like Guittard, use "French Vanilla" instead
of "Gourmet Bittersweet". Or use Callebaut's 55% "Bloc Dessert".

>
>3. Is there some other reason it might be getting
>gritty? I have mentioned that because I like the centers
>soft, I have to refrigerate it quite a while (usually
>overnight) to thicken it, and then I have to put it in
>the freezer for about half an hour (but the last time
>they might have been in there for several hours) after
>I ball it up. Could this be making it grit?

That's not why your texture is less than idea, but freezing it, yes, will
cause the texture to deteriorate very slightly. The sugar you're adding is,
however, masking any effect from freezing.

>5. I'm fairly careful about the temperature that I
>bring the chocolate to. I don't think that's causing
>the grit but I guess it could. I heat the cream to
>almost boiling and then turn it down to practically
>nothing, and I stir the chocolate in it constantly.

Better to pour the scalded cream over grated or finely chopped chocolate.
The heat from the cream will be more than enough to melt the chocolate. The
real risk from the method you're using is scorching the chocolate.

--
Alex Rast

(remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)

Thanks for the comments on my problem with gritty truffles,
Alex. I made some mint truffles for the daughter over the week-
end and didn't use any sugar in them and it still ended up
"looking" gritty. I say they looked gritty because the truffle
mass, as it cooled, had that slightly separated and not totally
smooth look. I can't feel the grit on my palate, but I assume
that others can.

I need to get a food processor so that I can finely chop the
chocolate. Right now I've got huge chunks off a 10 pound bar
that I'm having to melt. They can be stubborn. I think my
chocolate might be degrading during the prolonged melting
process.

I was looking at Fran Bigelow's PURE CHOCOLATE cookbook
this weekend and I note that she doesn't even want you to
refrigerate the truffle mixture, just cover it and let it set out
overnight at room temperature. My truffle mixture would never
be solid enough to ball up and dip using her method. I like the
centers nice and soft.

Oh! I copied off the list of "cheap" chocolates you recom-
mended. At least half of them looked familiar from Choco-
sphere. Is there another major source that you're getting
chocolate from?

Thanks again, Michael

at Mon, 14 Mar 2005 12:13:10 GMT in <1110802389.986300.103590
@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>, (Michael) wrote :

>Thanks for the comments on my problem with gritty truffles,
>Alex. I made some mint truffles for the daughter over the week-
>end and didn't use any sugar in them and it still ended up
>"looking" gritty. I say they looked gritty because the truffle
>mass, as it cooled, had that slightly separated and not totally
>smooth look. I can't feel the grit on my palate, but I assume
>that others can.

That's "broken" ganache. The texture isn't quite as silken - although it
will be reasonably smooth, as I say it lacks that ultimate smoothness that
is part of the raison d'etre of truffles. Usually broken ganache happens
because of overheating or a mismatch in fat percentages. What type of cream
are you using? As the proportion of cream goes up, you need to use lighter
(lower-fat) cream.

>
>I need to get a food processor so that I can finely chop the
>chocolate. Right now I've got huge chunks off a 10 pound bar
>that I'm having to melt.

No need for a food processor and in fact I think that's not the best way to
do it anyway. A food processor with its fast spin creates too much risk of
partially melting the chocolate.

Better is to use a box grater and, holding the chocolate with a piece of
paper towel folded in quarter, use the fine shredder side to grate it all
up. This does take time but the results are the best.

Next best it simply to chop up the chocolate with a knife. What you want is
a very heavy chef's knife - 10" or 12". Score a small groove in the top of
the bloc, set the knife in it, then either throw all your weight over the
knife or hit the knife with a heavy-headed rubber mallet. (No tapping here)
The knife should break cleanly through the bloc with little effort. You can
use this tactic to reduce the bloc to small chunks, which you can then chop
very finely with the same knife using more standard chopping technique. One
drawback is that you need to make *sure* your chopping board is absolutely
odour free - especially of onions, garlic, the usual suspects. A helpful
method is to set the chocolate on top of a sheet of wax paper on top of the
cutting board - and this has the additional advantage that when you're done
you can roll up the wax paper (with the chopped chocolate still in it) and
use it as a convenient transport bag and funnel to get the chopped
chocolate into a bowl.
>
>I was looking at Fran Bigelow's PURE CHOCOLATE cookbook
>this weekend and I note that she doesn't even want you to
>refrigerate the truffle mixture, just cover it and let it set out
>overnight at room temperature.

That's what I recommend, too. It's best if they're in a cool place (~60F).
Refrigeration creates risk of condensation and freezing mars the texture
slightly. Fran's truffles are still pretty soft - at the limit of how soft
truffles should be IMHO. It sounds like yours, then, must be semi-fluid -
more like a cream center than a truffle proper - broadly comparable in
texture to the center of Cadbury's creme eggs.

>Oh! I copied off the list of "cheap" chocolates you recom-
>mended. At least half of them looked familiar from Choco-
>sphere. Is there another major source that you're getting
>chocolate from?

Most of the chocolates I recommend come from Chocosphere, in part because I
like to stick with things that people can find no matter where they are,
and in part because Chocosphere carries virtually all of the good brands.
Other than Chocosphere, I buy locally - there are many supermarkets around
here with extremely broad, high-quality chocolate departments.

--
Alex Rast

(remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)

Alex wrote:

Fran's truffles are still pretty soft - at the limit of how soft
truffles should be IMHO. It sounds like yours, then, must be semi-fluid
-
more like a cream center than a truffle proper - broadly comparable in
texture to the center of Cadbury's creme eggs.

*************
Amazingly enough, they are fairly solid, Alex. You can cut them
in two with a knife and everything stays where it is. The higher
percentage chocolate can take more liquid and still firm up. It
seems to me that the desirable thickness depends somewhat on
whether they will be coated or not. Coated ones can be softer,
whereas ones that are simply going to be rolled in cocoa, etc,
need to be a bit firmer.

Thanks for posting, Alex. Your suggestions are appreciated.

Michael