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Exploring the Possibilities of Pectin in Pate De Fruit

Posted By RCI, Tuesday, February 14, 2023
Updated: Tuesday, September 5, 2023

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Pate de fruit is a traditional French confection made from fruit puree, sugar and pectin. Pectin is a natural thickening agent used in jams and jellies, and gives pate de fruit its firm, jelly-like texture. In this week’s blog post, we’re sharing tips from Chef Josh Johnson with Guittard Chocolate Company on how to achieve two distinct applications for pate de fruit by using a different type of pectin.

 


Pictured above are two distinct applications for pate de fruit. The confection on the left used G pectin to achieve a slab pate de fruit, where NH pectin helped achieve a softer, more fluid texture that could be piped into the chocolate shell on the right.

 

G Pectin

If you’re looking for a classic pate de fruit, G pectin is the way to go. Pate de fruit normally has a firm set, like a fruit jelly. Once set, it remains stable and can’t be manipulated. For an enrobed (or slab) piece, G pectin will achieve a firm consistency that cuts nicely on a guitar cutter. G pectin also offers a slower set time and a very nice fluidity when poured into a frame. This is key in being able to pour multiple frames without the product setting too quickly.

G pectin is a mixture of yellow pectin, dextrose and citric acid which work together to achieve the aforementioned qualities. Be sure to not switch yellow pectin for G pectin, or the other way around, because the results will be drastically different.

NH Pectin

NH pectin can be used to create a softer texture, which can be stirred or blended to a smooth consistency. Once completely cooled, it can be piped perfectly into moulded chocolate shells. NH pectin is primarily used in glazes for different pastry applications, because it can be remelted and remain homogenous as a liquid glaze. NH pectin is also called “thermo-reversible pectin.”

It’s important to understand the effects of different types of pectin to achieve your desired confectionery application. Click here to download Chef Josh's recipes for chocolate raspberry bon bons (pictured above) featuring pate de fruit that utilizes G pectin or NH pectin to achieve two distinctly different results.

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Tags:  Formulations  Fruit  Pate de Fruit  Pectin  Recipe 

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Trend Alert: Think Win-Win with Cross-Branding

Posted By RCI, Tuesday, November 29, 2022
Updated: Friday, January 20, 2023

 

In the popular leadership book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People®author Stephen Covey identifies the win-win mentality as one of those habits. Covey describes win-win as “a frame of mind and heart that constantly seeks mutual benefit in all human interactions.” I can think of few greater examples of practicing “win-win” in business than by collaborating with a fellow local business to create a new product that highlights the best of both brands.

 

Cross branding is a marketing and product development tactic that continues to grow traction in the confectionery industry. The possibilities can stretch as far as your imagination allows, but here’s some inspiration.

 

 

Craft Beer
RCI member, Hilliard’s Chocolates teamed up with a local brewery to create a craft beer collection featuring beer caramels and beer brittles. The popularity of micro-breweries has exploded in recent years, making it pretty likely there’s a nearby micro-brewery (or two, or three…) that would be happy to team up with your business to develop a unique, new product.

 

 

Wine
Even if you don’t live near California wine country, you may be surprised to find a local winery near you. According to  vineyards.com, wine is produced in all 50 US states. Many wines make a great complement to a chocolate ganache center, like in the red wine chocolate truffles by RCI member Stafford’s Chocolates.

 

 

Coffee
Partner with a local coffee roaster to develop a signature coffee flavor or a confection featuring their coffee. Known for their Mint Smoothie ®, RCI member Rhéo Thompson partnered with a local coffee roaster to develop a one-of-a-kind coffee blend featuring their signature flavor.

 

 

Dairy
Local dairy farms are a great opportunity for sourcing fresh cream and butter for your recipes. Don’t overlook goat milk as an alternative ingredient for customers with dairy allergies.

 

 

Fruits & Nuts
Is your region known for producing a specific fruit or nut? If so, you may not have to look too far to connect with local farmers to feature their products in your confections. You may even find this route to be more economical than sourcing those ingredients elsewhere.

Of course, developing a marketing and merchandising strategy is essential to make any cross-branding reach its full potential—you could also benefit by teaming up with the partnering company’s marketing team. Once your new product has been developed send out a press release to the local media announcing your partnership. Make sure to include the partnering company’s logo on your packaging and marketing materials, this will help to sweeten the deal for your partner and make it more likely they will help promote your product. Also, invite them to sell the product in their retail store and e-commerce site to promote the product to their network of followers.

Cross branding is a win-win for all those involved, but especially your customers when they get to enjoy the end result of your sweet collaboration!

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Tags:  Beer  Coffee  Cross-Branding  Fruit  Marketing  Nuts  Product Development  Wine 

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EGGS-tra Easter Egg Inspiration

Posted By RCI, Tuesday, March 22, 2022
Updated: Wednesday, April 13, 2022

How do you like your eggs?

And by that, we mean Easter eggs? April 17 will be here before we know it, but there’s still time to introduce some fresh ideas when it comes to chocolate Easter eggs. This week, we’re featuring EGGS-tra Easter eggs to help spark your imagination.

 

Photo credit: Sarris Candies

 

Smash Eggs
Say “goodbye” to hot cocoa bombs and “hello” to smash eggs! Many chocolatiers already have a hollow Easter egg mould in their toolkit, but what do you fill it with? Depending on the size of your mould, you may want to fill your smash egg with jelly beans, miniature foiled chocolates, truffles, chocolate-covered mini pretzels, chocolate-covered nuts and/or berries, etc. 

 

 

Some other unique ideas we’ve seen are eggs filled with tiny white chocolate chicks (cue “aww!”) and the more unexpected mini chocolate dinosaurs (cue gasp!). For even more dramatic effect, don’t forget the sprinkles, which will undoubtedly go flying upon impact between the egg and the mallet!

 


 

We love how RCI members Anderson’s Candies and Sarris Candies displayed their colorful smash eggs on their Facebook pages!

 

 

Easter Egg Overflow
There’s no surprise what you’re getting with Aldi’s Curious Inventions Easter Eggs! These Easter eggs are so packed with flavor, the contents are bursting through the chocolate shell. Although this does create a nice visual effect, the flavor combinations are just as intriguing.

There are six different varieties, such as banoffee (banana, caramel and butterscotch flavors); salted pretzel and orange; cookies and cream; popping candy; strawberries and cream (with real freeze-dried strawberry pieces) and the Billionaire egg, featuring chocolate and caramel fudge, white chocolate covered cookies and honeycomb candy.

 

Easter Egg Bark
Who says Easter eggs have to be three-dimensional? Here’s two examples of eggs that, despite their shape, don’t fall flat on the delivery!

It’s eggs-on-eggs-on-eggs with this chocolate bark by the LittleSugar Snaps blog that features loads of popular egg-themed candies. We love the swirls of color on the eggs by the Chocolate Pizza Company, plus the addition of a beautifully scribed name is an extra special touch.

 

Photo credits: WaitroseMelt London

 

Fruity Follies

 

 

These fruity lookalikes will have you doing a double-take! With a little imagination, Melt London transforms a standard three-dimensional egg into a strawberry filled with a chocolate strawberry cake.

Fruit lovers will undoubtedly fall for these lifelike pomegranate and lemon-shaped moulded chocolates sold by British grocery retailer, Waitrose. The pomegranate is made with caramelized white chocolate and real pomegranate, while the lemon version features white chocolate infused with zesty lemon flavors.

 

 

Animal-Themed Eggs
Take a walk on the wild side when pulling your inspiration from this barnyard bunch by Australian chocolatier,  Cacao or try a more abstract approach with the animal prints created for fashion designer Roberto Cavalli’s Italian coffee shop.

No matter if you like your chocolate Easter eggs more traditional or if you prefer a more unconventional approach, we hope this week’s post offers plenty of sweet inspiration this season!

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Tags:  Bark  Chocolate  Creative  Easter  Easter Eggs  Fruit  Holidays  Moulds 

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Tips for Building A Signature Trail Mix

Posted By RCI, Tuesday, August 24, 2021
Updated: Wednesday, October 13, 2021

 

 

Offering ready-to-enjoy trail mix is a great opportunity to create everyday snacking options, in addition to your special occasion gift options. Snacks, in general, are experiencing substantial growth right now. More specifically, 32% of consumers claim their household is purchasing more trail mix since the COVID-19 outbreak.

While the options are seemingly limitless, typically a successful trail mix hits three categories: (1) nuts and seeds, (2) dried or freeze-dried fruit and (3) something fun or indulgent. This last category is where confectioners can really put their unique spin on a mix.

In an article published in RCI’s Kettle Talk magazine, Charlotte Green with Barry Callebaut U.S.A., Inc. recommends to, “take your most popular confections and either miniaturize them or deconstruct the flavors and combine with fruits and nuts to make a trail mix for chocolate lovers. Chocolate-coated graham crackers can build a s’mores trail mix, caramel turtles can be the inspiration for a caramel apple pie trail mix, or a simple mini peanut butter cup can be part of a PB&J trail mix. Get creative! 42% of consumers consider their favorite flavor most important when buying nuts, seeds or trail mix.”

 

 

Trail Mix Mendiants

For a more upscale spin on trail mix, create trail mix mendiants. Mendiants are a French confection consisting of a chocolate disk studded with nuts and dried fruits. Make your own by adding your favorite trail mix ingredients to small pools of milk, white or dark chocolate before they set.

With the arrival of fallaround the corner (“hello” to fall hiking, campfires and football games) and National Trail Mix Day on August 31, we can’t think of a better time than now to start experimenting with different trail mix combinations.

If you’re at a loss for what trail mix combinations would get the most interest out of your customer base, start by asking some of your loyal customers or create a poll on Facebook. By inviting consumers to share their input, not only can you more easily meet their needs, you’re more likely to get buy-in and interest in a new product from consumers who participated in the ideation process.

Happy trails to you!

Crave more?Click here to subscribe and start receiving weekly tips, like this, delivered straight to your email inbox. RCI's blog is just one of the many resources we offer to help candy makers refine their craft and build upon their business and marketing practices.  Follow us on Facebook  for even more sweet inspiration.

Tags:  Fruit  Mendiants  Nuts  Seeds  Snacks  Trail Mix  Trends 

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Sweet Ways to Celebrate National Peach Month

Posted By RCI, Tuesday, August 10, 2021
Updated: Friday, August 20, 2021

 

August is National Peach Month. Did you know the peach is actually a member of the rose family and originated in China? The two main varieties of peaches are (1) clingstone, which are characterized by flesh that sticks to the stone and (2) freestone know by flesh that is easily separated from the stone.

When picking up peaches from the grocery store or farmers’ market, it’s safe to say green is definitely unripe, however, that rosy red color isn’t always an indicator of a peach’s ripeness. Different peach varieties have different amounts of red blush to their skin. According to the Illinois Farm Bureau, “the skin of yellow-fleshed varieties ripens to an orange tint, while the skin of white-fleshed varieties changes from greenish- to yellow-white.” Peaches with a slight give when pressed gently are ready to be used in the kitchen. Like many fruits, under-ripe peaches can be placed in a paper bag for two to three days to speed up the ripening process.

 

Peaches are at their peak from June to the end of August, so if you’re looking for fresh ways to incorporate local peaches into your confections now is the time.

 

Peach Pâte de Fruit
Pâte de fruit, French for “fruit paste,” is a great vehicle for highlighting fresh fruits of any variety. Interested in making your own peach pâte de fruit? Click here for the recipe from The Spruce Eats.

 

 

Grilled Peach S'mores

This fun idea comes from RCI member Wockenfuss Candies of Baltimore as a way for customers to celebrate National Peach Month using their chocolate, of course. Via the company's blog, Wockenfuss suggests a twist on the classic s'more by combining grilled peaches with white chocolate and graham crackers. Click here to read their full post.

 

Peaches and Cream Fudge
It’s creamy, it’s peachy and that’s something we can sink our teeth into. Make separate batches of peach and vanilla to create a beautiful swirl with the two colors. Click here for the recipe.

 

 

Peach Pie Fudge
A white chocolate fudge as the base, freeze-dried peaches and peach pie flavoring--topped with a buttery crumble topping stirs enough curiosity to think this just might be even better than the real thing. Check out this recipe from Sweet Recipeas.

 

Here’s wishing your summer kitchen adventures are just peachy!

Crave more? If you like what you read here, look for the "Subscribe now" box on the right to enter your email address and start receiving weekly tips, like this, delivered straight to your email inbox. RCI's blog is just one of the many resources we offer to help candy makers refine their craft and build upon their business and marketing practices. Follow us on Facebook for even more sweet inspiration.

Tags:  Food Holidays  Fruit  Summer 

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Sweet Ways to Celebrate National Peach Month

Posted By RCI, Tuesday, August 18, 2020
Updated: Monday, August 24, 2020

 

August is National Peach Month. Did you know the peach is actually a member of the rose family and originated in China? The two main varieties of peaches are (1) clingstone, which are characterized by flesh that sticks to the stone and (2) freestone know by flesh that is easily separated from the stone.

When picking up peaches from the grocery store or farmers’ market, it’s safe to say green is definitely unripe, however, that rosy red color isn’t always an indicator of a peach’s ripeness. Different peach varieties have different amounts of red blush to their skin. According to the Illinois Farm Bureau, “the skin of yellow-fleshed varieties ripens to an orange tint, while the skin of white-fleshed varieties changes from greenish- to yellow-white.” Peaches with a slight give when pressed gently are ready to be used in the kitchen. Like many fruits, under-ripe peaches can be placed in a paper bag for two to three days to speed up the ripening process.

 

Peaches are at their peak from June to the end of August, so if you’re looking for fresh ways to incorporate local peaches into your confections now is the time.

 

Peach Pâte de Fruit
Pâte de fruit, French for “fruit paste,” is a great vehicle for highlighting fresh fruits of any variety. Interested in making your own peach pâte de fruit? Click here for the recipe from The Spruce Eats.

 

Peaches and Cream Fudge
It’s creamy, it’s peachy and that’s something we can sink our teeth into. Make separate batches of peach and vanilla to create a beautiful swirl with the two colors. Click here for the recipe.

 

 

Peach Pie Fudge
A white chocolate fudge as the base, freeze-dried peaches and peach pie flavoring--topped with a buttery crumble topping stirs enough curiosity to think this just might be even better than the real thing. Check out this recipe from Sweet Recipeas.

 

Here’s wishing your summer kitchen adventures are just peachy!

Crave more? If you like what you read here, look for the "Subscribe now" box on the right to enter your email address and start receiving weekly tips, like this, delivered straight to your email inbox. RCI's Tip of the Week blog is just one of the many resources we offer to help candy makers refine their craft and build upon their business and marketing practices.

Not a member? Click here to learn how RCI can help you build your sweet business.

Tags:  Candy Making  Fruit  Fudge  Ideas  Pate de Fruit  Peach  Recipe  Summer 

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