[Quinn01]

As most of you have seen, there is a topic called stump BDL but he wants other people to take the spot light as well.

So I think itd be fun to have a topic where anyone can come and post a question looking to stump your fellow CT members.

Any food related questions!!!

Kick it off guys!

[ED BUCHANAN]

Originally Posted by Quinn01

As most of you have seen, there is a topic called stump BDL but he wants other people to take the spot light as well.

So I think itd be fun to have a topic where anyone can come and post a question looking to stump your fellow CT members.

Any food related questions!!!

Kick it off guys!

I think all of us are here to learn ourselves and educate others, not stump one another. I have been doing this 45 years and learn something new daily, and am happy that I can answer some questions of younger culinarians.

[Quinn01]

Yeah but its fun to quiz eachother. Just another way to learn.

[cheflayne]

Etamine, what is it?

[Miraz]

An open weave cloth used for straining stocks and sauces....

[Luc_H]

This is kinda of difficult to do in an age when Google is a verb.

Prior to the availability of gelatin what ingredient was used to make old world foods like blancmange and panna cotta?

Hint: this ingredient can be Kosher but not vegan.

Luc H

[foodpump]

Ahhh.... Luc, would that be "Visaga" (spelling?)---the dried spinal column fluid from the sturgeon, also used in "Couillbilac"

?

[Luc_H]

Foodpump, you are so close!!!
Unfortunately I cannot find any references of the words you proposes in google.

I grant you that yes, it is extracted from sturgeon and other fish as well.
Luc H

[foodpump]

Don't have my trusty "Larousse" beside me I'm at work, waiting for the ovens to warm up--just enough time for a coffee and a few minutes on line. Besides I hardly every use google anyway.

Lets see , spinal fluid... or is that spine marrow of the Sturgeon?.

Couillbilac ( I can't spell it anyway..) to the best of my knowledge is a Russian dish, basically of whole salmon on bed of rice, rice bound with sturgeon visaga, and covered with puff pastry and baked.


In any case here's a question which you, Luc, probably know anyway:

On the ingredient list in most chocolates (bulk couveture) the item "Soy lecithin" come up. How much of this stuff (in %) is actually in the chocolate, and what is it's purpose?

[izbnso]

I don’t have any idea what the % is, but soy lecithin is used as an emulsifier in chocolate, and can be found in so many other food products it is virtually impossible to avoid. Learned this when I had to do a chocolate wedding cake for a bride who was allergic to soy and gluten. In fact, somebody here directed me to a site that sold soy free chocolate.

[Luc_H]

Lecithin is an emulsifier. It's purpose is to assure that the different fats that constitute chocolate stay blended together. Cocoa butter, unlike hydrogenated fats, is not uniform and a blend of fats of different hardness. Lecithin makes sure they stay blended and that the fat crystals remain stable once the tempering is achieved. Lecithin essentially helps protect chocolate during prolong storage and temperature variations during storage. It helps delay (prevent) chocolate blooming (powdery graying which is fat crystals that have melted, leached and disorganized).

On average lecithin is added at below 2% (usually around 0.5 to 1%).
In Canada, emulsifiers cannot exceed 1.5% by weight.
other emulsifying ingredients that have similar effectiveness to lecithin and are accepted in Canada are:
mono-glycerides and mono- and diglycerides,
hydroxylated lecithin,
ammonium salts of phosphorylated glycerides,
polyglycerol esters of interesterified castor oil fatty acids,
and
sorbitan monostearate.

Lecithin is commercially extracted from soy (hence commercially cheap) but it is also found in eggs. It is the emulsifying work horse in mayonnaise making (in conjunction with some emulsifying agents found of mustard seeds).

Probably every commercial chocolate made in the world contains some sort of emulsifier. One just needs to read labels and choose what to avoid. I can say that the least <processed> emulsifier ingredient is in fact lecithin. It is a simple extract. All others mentioned above are a by-product of a chemical reaction in some way.

Luc H

Foodpump... should I wait to give the answer to my quiz?

[foodpump]

Ahhh, that's another angle that I didn't know about, thanks Luc.

From the books I've read, I understood that lecithin is added in amounts of under 1/2 % to combat viscosity. Normally lecithin is used as an emulsifier, but in very small quantities has the ability to "thin out" chocolate. The expensive chocolates (ie Cluizel) do not contain this (lecithin), but add more cocoa butter to combat viscosity. (the make-up of a cocoa bean has anywhere from 52-54% cocoa butter) In many of the couvetures a "thinner" consistancy is desired when enrobing confectionary.

[Luc_H]

Originally Posted by foodpump

In many of the couvetures a "thinner" consistancy is desired when enrobing confectionary.

The ingredient that does what you are explaining are sorbitan monoesters (i used to sell the stuff). When melted it makes compound chocolates flow very thin without affecting the hardness when cooled. (lecithin can do that somewhat but sorbitans are much better at it).

here is a site of ingredients for compound chocolate from a company I know. It explains the function of their ingredients.
Chocolate & compounds - Danisco A/S

Luc H.

[deltadoc]

Mannitol is found in sugarless gums. What other major way is it used?

doc

[foodnfoto]

Baby laxative?

....no, seriously.