Making the world a little sweeter one pastry tip at at time.
A great study out of Gettysburg College’s Psychology department. Each participant was randomly asked to eat either a cracker or piece of chocolate either mindfully or non-mindfully. Researchers found that eating chocolate mindfully (focusing on the ingredient production) rather than simply eating without thinking produces …read more
Another effect to the high demand for sugar – deaths from working too hard harvesting sugarcane. It is estimated that the extreme and very harsh working environments in Central American sugarcane fields have caused the death of about 20,000 people over the past 10 years …read more
Interesting read in ConfectioneryNews.com today about the use of botanical or herbal ingredients inside candy. Some are used to provide energy (ginseng and guarana) and others for their antioxidant properties (green tea, acerola, and super fruits). Using these ingredients will enable some manufacturers in the EU to use health claims in their marketing. But using these different ingredients doesn’t come without its challenges. Any extra ingredient will have a profound effect on the color, flavor, and texture of the finished candy product. It will be interesting to see how many manufacturers jump on board with this to reach more consumers, especially those consumers that consider candy bad for you.
My husband wants a 3-D printer, so I’ve been scouting the Internet to learn all about it. These machines are amazing, not that we’ll get one tomorrow or anything. A 3-D printer essentially prints out in three dimensional form of whatever you tell it to print. I’ve …read more
This isn’t a baking book per se, but it does have something related to the pastry kitchen: candy. As a mom, I know how much fun my kids enjoy experimenting and working on home science projects. Their science kits complete with microscopes, tweezers, petri dishes, and …read more
We all know baking something at the proper temperature is a good thing. But how do you convert a temperture in Celsius if it is in Fahrenheit, or in Fahrenheit if it is Celsius? A simple conversion can be done online through the many different online temperature conversions, but if you are no where near a computer, knowing how to do by hand or by calculator is a very handy.
The basic calculations for converting a temperature reading in Celsius to Fahrenheit is: Basic Formula (C*9)/5+32 = F. The basic calculations for converting a temperting reading in Fahrenheit to Celsius is: Basic Formula (F – 32)*5/9.
On PastrySampler.com, I listed step by step how to convert the different temperatures, and all it takes is a little algebra.
In Old School Pastry, read about courmarin and tonka beans – they were once used in creating imitation vanilla flavor.
What is wheat dispearance? If anyone has read any food commidity report or opened up an industry news magazine, that term often pops up. Often mislabled and confused with other terminology, I found a great definition/explanation which comes from the book: Wheat Production, Properties and Quality by W. …read more
Here is a link to CNN Health regarding news about what researchers found at University of Rochester Medical Center. News was injecting lab rats with BBG – Brilliant Blue G – the same color used to dye the blue M&Ms we all eat (well, those who like M&Ms anyway) helped them with mobility. Seeing the pictures of the rats, it is obvious they turned a little blue from the color.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/07/28/spinal.injury.blue.dye/index.html
Scientists are looking for women for their chocolate study: to see if specially formulated Belgium chocolate can reduce the risk for heart disease. Targeted women within a certain age group are being sought to eat two bars a day, or a placebo, for a whole …read more