[Sca-cooks] FW: Champagne Truffles Revisited

[kingstaste at mindspring.com]

Well, I had the chance to taste a couple of the champagne truffles this past
weekend.  I liked them.  They were a very complex flavor experience.  It
started with the dark chocolate coating, then you got the hint of a grape
aroma, followed by the intense chocolate ganache.  Then the grape tang
really became apparent, followed by the briefest acridity that I assume was
from the drieness of the champagne she used.  It ended with a lingering
aroma of chocolate and wine, like the finish of a glass of wine as the last
of the alcohol evaporates off your palate.  We talked about using a sweeter
champagne like a spumanti, but that an Asti wouldn't be used, mostly for
cost and also because I think the finer points of the vintage are probably
lost with the reduction and mixing into chocolate.  She and I both laughed
that it was worth the sacrifice of ONE MORE BOTTLE, but not any more unless
they were really knock-your-socks-off-wonderful.

><snip>
>It is interesting to know that the champagne truffles engender pretty much
>the same opinion; interesting.

I must have missed the beginning of this thread. What was this more-or-less
universally held opinion? I remember seeing something about efforts to make
the end product taste more grape-ey. Maybe a little grape jelly stirred in,
or a nice Nehi Grape soda reduction?
Grape Kool-Aid? I'm not really sure what's being asked, here...
Adamantius

	Actually, Adamantius, you started this thread.  I forwarded your comments
to Mistress Aethelwynn (see previous posts about what a wonderful person she
is), and she was intrigued enough to experiment with a bottle and her next
truffle batch.  She was surprised to discover how grapey the reduction
tasted, as she said you don't usually get much of a sense of the grape
itself in a glass of champagne.  She was then dissapointed that the grape
flavor didn't come through the chocolate as strongly, although I thought
there was lots myself.
	The opinion referred to above is that the truffles got pretty much the same
reaction from everyone that tried them: "Hm, Interesting."  Not what a
well-reknowned truffle maker wants to hear about their newest flavor
experiment, at least not if they are going to re-create them.  She saved a
few for me to taste because of my educated and super-smeller palate :) I
believe there will be a return of this one, if only for the one more batch.
Christianna