minow@decvax.UUCP (Martin Minow) (11/24/83)
For those of you wondering what truffles are and why they are called truffles, wonder no more. They are called truffles because they resemble the truffle mushroom -- a roundish ball about 3/4 inch in diameter. The following comes from "Making Chocolate," by Alec Leaver, published in 1975 by Weathervane Books by arrangement with Michael Joseph Ltd. The book is probably out of print. "Truffles are the easiest chocolates to make and certainly the most delightful to eat. They provide an excellent introduction to the problems of handling and coating centres which are very important in chocolate-making. "The basis of the truffle centre is ganache paste, a mixture of melted chocolate and warm cream well blended and cooled until it hardens. Orange, honey, peppermint, rum or vanilla can be added to give flavor, but it is important that the final mixture should be hard enough to be moulded to shape and be capable of standing up to being coated with chocolate. "The texture of ganache paste depends upon the kinds of cream and chocolate and the proportions in which they are used. Plain chocolate is harder than milk chocolate, so more cream can be added to it. Single cream is thinner than double so must be used in smaller quantities. .... "Incorporating cream or other liquids fulfils two functions: it softens the chocolate and it gives flavour. Any liquid can be added to chocolate and will have a softening effect, if that is all that is desired. Even water can be used, although its effect is so drastic that the quantity must be very accurate indeed: 3 fl. oz. of water added to 1 lb. milk chocolate gives a slightly soft consistency, 4 fl. oz. would make it much too soft, while only 2 fl. oz. would leave it too hard to mold. It is important to be as accurate as possible, even when using cream, but ther is room for a little error. "After the centre has been made and moulded to shape, it is coated with chocolate to seal it and help to keep it moist. It is then rolled in a final decorative coating, and this can cocoa sweetened with a little icing sugar, or chopped mixed nuts. This centre does not keep for more than a week or two in warm weather since it is subject to mould, so it is wise to store truffles in the refrigerator [well sealed to prevent them from absorbing odors]. They can be kept in the deep freeze in a sealed container, but when the centers are very cold they have no flavor and should be brought to room temperature slowly. "The finish of truffles is a matter of choice.... The object is to give each chocolate with a different type of centre its own attractive and distinctive appearance so that one can tell what the centre is. A box of four or five different kinds of truffles is attractive to the eye and delightful to eat." One last note: Julia Child had a bit on truffle making on this week's show -- a gloriously messy look into a chocolate factory. Their (commercial) recipe mixed the chocolate into what looked like a soft caramel. I would guess that the chocolate was unsweetened (liqueur) -- otherwise the sugar makes no sense. Also, if you're interested in unusual uses of chocolate, try to see Dusan Majakiev's "Sweet Movie." Martin Minow decvax!minow