Comments on: Nougat Science http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/02/28/nougat-science.html In LA, but Still Exploring Desserts Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:17:42 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: Jay http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/02/28/nougat-science.html#comment-20771 Jay Sat, 05 Jan 2008 01:22:19 +0000 http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/02/28/nougat-science.html#comment-20771 So tell me, did you ever achieve the light and fluffy? I have been trying and failing to get fluffiness for a while. I even blew up a mixer trying to whip the mixture as it cooled (apparently cheap mixers shouldn't be run for a long time with high temperature mixtures, who knew?) If leaving the product for a while makes it more fluffy, do we know why? My thoughts are on a change in moisture level, or time for incorporated air to expand. So tell me, did you ever achieve the light and fluffy?
I have been trying and failing to get fluffiness for a while. I even blew up a mixer trying to whip the mixture as it cooled (apparently cheap mixers shouldn’t be run for a long time with high temperature mixtures, who knew?)
If leaving the product for a while makes it more fluffy, do we know why? My thoughts are on a change in moisture level, or time for incorporated air to expand.

]]> By: Nina http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/02/28/nougat-science.html#comment-20588 Nina Sat, 08 Dec 2007 03:17:47 +0000 http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/02/28/nougat-science.html#comment-20588 Hi Bill, I've never attempted torrone (or used honey in my nougat), so I"m not sure. I have seen recipes that call for boiling the sugar/honey to a relatively low temp (maybe 250F) and mixing half of that with the egg white, and then returning it to a boil to cook the rmg higher. That may lighten the color and hopefully there will be enough sugar boiled high enough for it to be hard. Good luck! Hi Bill,
I’ve never attempted torrone (or used honey in my nougat), so I”m not sure. I have seen recipes that call for boiling the sugar/honey to a relatively low temp (maybe 250F) and mixing half of that with the egg white, and then returning it to a boil to cook the rmg higher. That may lighten the color and hopefully there will be enough sugar boiled high enough for it to be hard.
Good luck!

]]> By: bill http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/02/28/nougat-science.html#comment-20527 bill Sat, 01 Dec 2007 02:51:27 +0000 http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/02/28/nougat-science.html#comment-20527 i have been attempting to make torrone for about a week.. 2 questions i have are, mine always come out beige, not white....the sugar/honey mix tends to darken before hard crack stage..is this normal or should i stop heating before i get to 300 as my recipe states, and texture..im looking for a rock hard texture as my italian girlfirend desires, somebody suggestes mixing longer. Does oxygen and aeration play a role? Any advice on how to get whiter/harder candy would be appreciated Thanks Bill i have been attempting to make torrone for about a week..

2 questions i have are, mine always come out beige, not white….the sugar/honey mix tends to darken before hard crack stage..is this normal or should i stop heating before i get to 300 as my recipe states, and texture..im looking for a rock hard texture as my italian girlfirend desires, somebody suggestes mixing longer. Does oxygen and aeration play a role?
Any advice on how to get whiter/harder candy would be appreciated

Thanks
Bill

]]> By: Nina http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/02/28/nougat-science.html#comment-17334 Nina Thu, 06 Sep 2007 04:29:06 +0000 http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/02/28/nougat-science.html#comment-17334 Oh, you know what, I used dehydrated fruit that I'd bought -- I think the "simply" brand... and I tried blackberry and raspberry, both of which are probably most susceptible to a woodsy flavor from the seeds. I think that to get it right I would have to dehydrate them myself. I recently saw a Good Eats episode where he made made beef jerky on furnace filters blown by a fan.... Maybe I can rig up something like that. :) Or wait until his dehydrated fruit episode to run... :) And I'll have to remember the sugar water trick, too... Amazing how sugar can bring out so much flavor. :) Oh, you know what, I used dehydrated fruit that I’d bought — I think the “simply” brand… and I tried blackberry and raspberry, both of which are probably most susceptible to a woodsy flavor from the seeds.

I think that to get it right I would have to dehydrate them myself. I recently saw a Good Eats episode where he made made beef jerky on furnace filters blown by a fan…. Maybe I can rig up something like that. :) Or wait until his dehydrated fruit episode to run… :)

And I’ll have to remember the sugar water trick, too… Amazing how sugar can bring out so much flavor. :)

]]> By: dee_lusions http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/02/28/nougat-science.html#comment-15459 dee_lusions Sat, 18 Aug 2007 10:30:48 +0000 http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/02/28/nougat-science.html#comment-15459 Woodsy? I've had that happen a couple of times when I've dehydrated my fruit too long. You might want to try playing with shorter drying times and lower settings. It affects the flavors of the fruits. Also, using things like lemon juice, sugar, salt, and other preservatives to keep colors and flavors can help or hinder the process. As for the tart flavor, it's come down to me being a picky shopper. It's taken years to learn how to identify those really yummy sweet strawberries that are going to go bad tomorrow as opposed to the ones that are truly going bad today ;p lol Of course, I still have to get out of season stuff, so I cheat and soak my cut berries in sugar water before dehydrating them. There are some books on dehydration for cooking, not just for food preservation that you might want to look up. I can't think of the names of them right now... I'll try to find them and post them here. I got them a long time ago, which started me on playing with fruit powders and many other ideas like veggie powders in soup stocks. Thanks for the compliment on the pie technique! I saw someone using it for a sauce recipe and I said, pie filling! Lol, I was making thanksgiving pies at the time. Woodsy? I’ve had that happen a couple of times when I’ve dehydrated my fruit too long. You might want to try playing with shorter drying times and lower settings. It affects the flavors of the fruits. Also, using things like lemon juice, sugar, salt, and other preservatives to keep colors and flavors can help or hinder the process.

As for the tart flavor, it’s come down to me being a picky shopper. It’s taken years to learn how to identify those really yummy sweet strawberries that are going to go bad tomorrow as opposed to the ones that are truly going bad today ;p lol Of course, I still have to get out of season stuff, so I cheat and soak my cut berries in sugar water before dehydrating them.

There are some books on dehydration for cooking, not just for food preservation that you might want to look up. I can’t think of the names of them right now… I’ll try to find them and post them here. I got them a long time ago, which started me on playing with fruit powders and many other ideas like veggie powders in soup stocks.

Thanks for the compliment on the pie technique! I saw someone using it for a sauce recipe and I said, pie filling! Lol, I was making thanksgiving pies at the time.

]]> By: Nina http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/02/28/nougat-science.html#comment-14115 Nina Sat, 28 Jul 2007 17:58:30 +0000 http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/02/28/nougat-science.html#comment-14115 Thank you so much -- for the praise and suggestions! :) I've played around a little bit with fruit powders in nougat, and they worked to an extent. To me, though, the flavor was a little off -- it was more tart and woodsier than I like, and the (relatively bland) sweeteners used in nougat were never quite able to take the edge off; I even tried not to grind the seeds too much before straining them. The powder doesn't dissolve completely, but it wasn't not gritty at all so at least the texture was nice. Incidentally, in Happy in the Kitchen by Michel Richard uses raspberry powder in quite a few things.... and a lot of it! I made his meringue recipe, which has 1/2 cup egg whites to 3/4 cup raspberry powder, and wow, that was intense. It was also wild to see the powder almost instantly eat up all the moisture in the egg whites when they were folded in. I did try a mint nougat by slowly drying out fresh mint leaves in the microwave, grinding them up, and mixing them in. It actually worked nicely. The flavor remained bright, with a smooth texture, and it kept well. I haven't been tried it, but I've been wondering if it would work to "infuse" sugar by putting dried mint or tea leaves into a canister of sugar for a long time, like for vanilla sugar. And I love your pie filling technique! I bet the flavors of the fresh and dehydrated fruit work together really well. I have to try that! Thank you so much — for the praise and suggestions! :)

I’ve played around a little bit with fruit powders in nougat, and they worked to an extent. To me, though, the flavor was a little off — it was more tart and woodsier than I like, and the (relatively bland) sweeteners used in nougat were never quite able to take the edge off; I even tried not to grind the seeds too much before straining them. The powder doesn’t dissolve completely, but it wasn’t not gritty at all so at least the texture was nice.

Incidentally, in Happy in the Kitchen by Michel Richard uses raspberry powder in quite a few things…. and a lot of it! I made his meringue recipe, which has 1/2 cup egg whites to 3/4 cup raspberry powder, and wow, that was intense. It was also wild to see the powder almost instantly eat up all the moisture in the egg whites when they were folded in.

I did try a mint nougat by slowly drying out fresh mint leaves in the microwave, grinding them up, and mixing them in. It actually worked nicely. The flavor remained bright, with a smooth texture, and it kept well.

I haven’t been tried it, but I’ve been wondering if it would work to “infuse” sugar by putting dried mint or tea leaves into a canister of sugar for a long time, like for vanilla sugar.

And I love your pie filling technique! I bet the flavors of the fresh and dehydrated fruit work together really well. I have to try that!

]]> By: dee_lusions http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/02/28/nougat-science.html#comment-14006 dee_lusions Fri, 27 Jul 2007 02:11:19 +0000 http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/02/28/nougat-science.html#comment-14006 This is a wonderful post. I enjoyed reading it very much. Thank you for sharing. A thought came to mind when you were discussing flavoring the nougat. A way to get intense flavoring without compromising the freshness of flavor, especially with fruit, is to use dehydrated fruit that has been ground into a fine powder that will basically melt into the liquid of your recipe. I'm not sure how you'd need to adjust the dry ingredients, but I do know that you'd get a wonderful burst of fresh flavor. I've done this with my pie fillings. Since I hate to cook away all the flavor of my filling, I use fresh fruit that I simmer gently until just barely softened in their juices with some sugar. Then I add agar agar and fruit powder. I get demands for my "secret" recipe. :) Mint or any kind of green flavoring would be more challenging since they don't become instant even after dehydrating and grinding. I haven't figured out a way other than making an infusion to incorporate things like mint and green tea. Have you found any other ways of incorporating these kinds of flavors? This is a wonderful post. I enjoyed reading it very much. Thank you for sharing. A thought came to mind when you were discussing flavoring the nougat. A way to get intense flavoring without compromising the freshness of flavor, especially with fruit, is to use dehydrated fruit that has been ground into a fine powder that will basically melt into the liquid of your recipe. I’m not sure how you’d need to adjust the dry ingredients, but I do know that you’d get a wonderful burst of fresh flavor.

I’ve done this with my pie fillings. Since I hate to cook away all the flavor of my filling, I use fresh fruit that I simmer gently until just barely softened in their juices with some sugar. Then I add agar agar and fruit powder. I get demands for my “secret” recipe. :)

Mint or any kind of green flavoring would be more challenging since they don’t become instant even after dehydrating and grinding. I haven’t figured out a way other than making an infusion to incorporate things like mint and green tea. Have you found any other ways of incorporating these kinds of flavors?

]]> By: Nina http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/02/28/nougat-science.html#comment-11652 Nina Sun, 17 Jun 2007 06:56:30 +0000 http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/02/28/nougat-science.html#comment-11652 Hello Sarah, Yeah, nougat is a pretty delicate ecosystem. I think a lot of it has to do with moisture. The method you described sounds like a traditional version that turns out somewhat dense. If it's a "hard" chewiness, it could probably use more moisture -- you could try increasing the egg white, cooking the sugars to a lower temp, or subbing some granulated sugar for some of the glucose by weight. If it's a "soft" chewiness, then you could do the opposite. You could also try adding a little confectioner's sugar either at the end or mixed w/ the egg white at the beginning -- just a little will shorten the texture a little and dry it a little, and make it less chewy. And I've read that the nougat in Milky Way is aged two weeks! At first, it's almost like taffy, but it dries out more to its regular consistency. I've experimented a little when I had one batch turn out like hard taffy. I wrapped it up and checked it in about 3 weeks -- and it had softened so that I could cut it and pinch pieces off, and it's texture was airier. Hello Sarah, Yeah, nougat is a pretty delicate ecosystem. I think a lot of it has to do with moisture. The method you described sounds like a traditional version that turns out somewhat dense. If it’s a “hard” chewiness, it could probably use more moisture — you could try increasing the egg white, cooking the sugars to a lower temp, or subbing some granulated sugar for some of the glucose by weight. If it’s a “soft” chewiness, then you could do the opposite. You could also try adding a little confectioner’s sugar either at the end or mixed w/ the egg white at the beginning — just a little will shorten the texture a little and dry it a little, and make it less chewy.

And I’ve read that the nougat in Milky Way is aged two weeks! At first, it’s almost like taffy, but it dries out more to its regular consistency. I’ve experimented a little when I had one batch turn out like hard taffy. I wrapped it up and checked it in about 3 weeks — and it had softened so that I could cut it and pinch pieces off, and it’s texture was airier.

]]> By: Sarah http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/02/28/nougat-science.html#comment-11434 Sarah Mon, 11 Jun 2007 04:10:50 +0000 http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/02/28/nougat-science.html#comment-11434 Hi there, I have recently become obsessed with making nougat. I have downloaded a chapter from textbook which contains manufacturing instructions and recipes (20 or so) for different types of nougat. The one I tried in the weekend has two sugar parts. One contains the honey & glucose syrup, cook to 118C and whip in egg white (I used albumin powder), the other sugar part, white sugar & glucose syrup cooks up to 148C and is immediately added to still warm whipped egg/sugar part. This was white, glossy thick and beautiful but too chewy. Was yours less chewy? I'm trying to make a soft melt-in-the mouth type. The recipe also says to hold at 35C for 2 days! Let me know if you want the download I could email it to you.. would love to know your recipe too.. thanks, sarah Hi there, I have recently become obsessed with making nougat. I have downloaded a chapter from textbook which contains manufacturing instructions and recipes (20 or so) for different types of nougat. The one I tried in the weekend has two sugar parts. One contains the honey & glucose syrup, cook to 118C and whip in egg white (I used albumin powder), the other sugar part, white sugar & glucose syrup cooks up to 148C and is immediately added to still warm whipped egg/sugar part. This was white, glossy thick and beautiful but too chewy. Was yours less chewy? I’m trying to make a soft melt-in-the mouth type. The recipe also says to hold at 35C for 2 days! Let me know if you want the download I could email it to you..
would love to know your recipe too.. thanks, sarah

]]> By: Sweet Napa » Blog Archive » The Coffee Bar http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/02/28/nougat-science.html#comment-6299 Sweet Napa » Blog Archive » The Coffee Bar Wed, 14 Mar 2007 07:33:08 +0000 http://www.sweetnapa.com/2007/02/28/nougat-science.html#comment-6299 [...] After all my experiments with nougat, I can make this one in my sleep now. I went through at least 10 different versions of the recipe (and made some versions several times). I adjusted the temperature it was boiled to, the ratio of sugar to glucose, the amount of chocolate in it, the type of chocolate in it, and more. It was wonderful to see how each factor affected the finished product — and how subsequent versions might have to be adjusted to compensate for certain results — but what’s funny is that my final version is almost identical to my first version. It turned out that decreasing the amount of egg white by just a 1/4 ounce in my first version fixed everything. How elegantly simple… at long last. [...] [...] After all my experiments with nougat, I can make this one in my sleep now. I went through at least 10 different versions of the recipe (and made some versions several times). I adjusted the temperature it was boiled to, the ratio of sugar to glucose, the amount of chocolate in it, the type of chocolate in it, and more. It was wonderful to see how each factor affected the finished product — and how subsequent versions might have to be adjusted to compensate for certain results — but what’s funny is that my final version is almost identical to my first version. It turned out that decreasing the amount of egg white by just a 1/4 ounce in my first version fixed everything. How elegantly simple… at long last. [...]

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