Does anyone know how to make fruit puree to make ganache fillings with? Or is it better to buy them in the grocery store? Do grocery stores carry quality fruit purees? Thanks a bunch!
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09/22/09 08:47:02AM @clay:
It is certainly possible to make fruit purees at home. However, if you are going to be making chocolates commercially (i.e., for sale), then you probably want to purchase them because they will be consistently the same taste and sweetness which is very difficult to achieve if you're buying fruit in the market which differs in ripeness from day to day and week to week. You're looking for something which has the consistency of a thick coulis. You don't even have to cook the fruit if you use pre-made simple syrup that you have let cool.You probably won't find these at your local grocery store - you'll probably need to look into a specialty foods retailer or wholesaler that sells pastry and baking supplies, or online.Brands to look for include Boiron, Cap Fruit, Perfect Puree, Sicoly, and Ponthier, among others.Online sources include:Lepicerie.comChefswarehouse.comPerfectPuree.comscff.comKeep in mind that some brands come frozen, some refrigerated, and others are in packaging which should be kept cool until opened at which point they must be refrigerated. They might seem expensive, but unless you have some special reason to make your own (for example Jeff Shepherd of LillieBelle Farms grows his own organic berries and stone fruit and uses those for purees and jellies) when you factor in the cost of your time and the level of consistency that prepared purees deliver, they are, as often as not, worth the money.Another thing to consider is that with prepared purees the water activity level is consistent, which should result in more consistent shelf life for your products.
It is certainly possible to make fruit purees at home. However, if you are going to be making chocolates commercially (i.e., for sale), then you probably want to purchase them because they will be consistently the same taste and sweetness which is very difficult to achieve if you're buying fruit in the market which differs in ripeness from day to day and week to week. You're looking for something which has the consistency of a thick coulis. You don't even have to cook the fruit if you use pre-made simple syrup that you have let cool.You probably won't find these at your local grocery store - you'll probably need to look into a specialty foods retailer or wholesaler that sells pastry and baking supplies, or online.Brands to look for include Boiron, Cap Fruit, Perfect Puree, Sicoly, and Ponthier, among others.Online sources include:Lepicerie.comChefswarehouse.comPerfectPuree.comscff.comKeep in mind that some brands come frozen, some refrigerated, and others are in packaging which should be kept cool until opened at which point they must be refrigerated. They might seem expensive, but unless you have some special reason to make your own (for example Jeff Shepherd of LillieBelle Farms grows his own organic berries and stone fruit and uses those for purees and jellies) when you factor in the cost of your time and the level of consistency that prepared purees deliver, they are, as often as not, worth the money.Another thing to consider is that with prepared purees the water activity level is consistent, which should result in more consistent shelf life for your products.