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best cocoa for truffles
at Sun, 12 Oct 2003 20:46:00 GMT in
>, (Rona
Yuthasastrakosol) wrote :
>Does anyone have suggestions for the best type of cocoa for rolling
>truffles? Is it better to use Dutch-processed or the other kind?
Use the "natural-process" kind, i.e. not the Dutch processed. Also, use a
high-fat type (~20% fat) instead of the low-fat kind. This, is, at least,
true for bittersweet truffles, the kind I see you've been making.
> And
>are any particular brands better than others?
There are indeed better and worse brands. Guittard is quite good, and
Ghirardelli is very good. Michel Cluizel is better, but hard to find. You
might want to experiment with Scharffen Berger or Valrhona, although both
of these cocoas are very sharp.
> I'm guessing Fry's is
>out, probably Hershey's, too.
They're both pretty harsh, although you can use them if you have no options
- with truffles, it's useful but not critical to use a high quality cocoa
for the coating, unlike the chocolate you use in the ganache which must be
first-rate. Since the flavour of the ganache will (or should) quickly
overpower the cocoa, it's not the end of the world if the cocoa isn't the
best possible.
BTW, if you're making semisweet truffles, a mildly Dutched cocoa is a
better bet. If you're making white chocolate truffles (don't knock them -
with El Rey chocolate they're actually really good), use non-instant milk
powder, preferably full-fat. If you're making milk chocolate truffles,
blend half cocoa, half non-instant powdered milk.
--
Alex Rast
(remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)
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