Making praliné
Nuts caramelised in sugar and ground to a paste. The caramelisation is the flavour and the grinding is the work.
Praliné is nuts cooked in caramelised sugar, cooled to a brittle, then ground until the nut oil releases and the mass turns to paste. Hazelnut is the classic, almond the common alternative, and the two are frequently blended.
The grinding is the demanding part. It takes far longer than seems reasonable — the mixture goes through a sandy stage that looks like failure before the oil releases and it becomes smooth. A food processor manages it in ten to fifteen minutes with rests; a domestic blender generally does not.
- What it is for
- To produce a smooth caramelised nut paste for fillings and flavouring.
- Working temperature
- 160–175°C — Caramel temperature. Below about 160°C the sugar has not developed; above about 180°C it turns acrid, and praliné concentrates that.
- Works with
- Praline, Gianduja, Milk chocolate
Ratios
| For | Ratio | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Classic praliné | 1:1 chocolate to sugar to nuts, by weight | Equal sugar and nuts is the standard. More nuts gives a looser, less sweet paste. |
Method
1. Toast the nuts and rub off the skins while warm.
Where people go wrong: Leaving hazelnut skins on, which makes the finished paste bitter and gritty.
2. Cook sugar to a mid-amber caramel, stir in the warm nuts, and pour onto a lined tray to set hard.
Where people go wrong: Taking the caramel too dark. Praliné concentrates the flavour, so a caramel that tastes slightly bitter in the pan will be unpleasant in the paste.
3. Break the set brittle and grind in a processor, resting the motor, until it passes the sandy stage and turns to a smooth paste.
Where people go wrong: Stopping at the sandy stage, which looks like a dead end and is the halfway point.
When it goes wrong
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Stays sandy and never becomes paste | Under-ground, or the nuts were low in oil. | Keep going with rests. If it truly will not come together, add a spoonful of neutral oil. |
| Bitter | Caramel taken too far, or hazelnut skins left on. | Neither is reversible. Both are prevention rather than repair. |
Related
Works with
- PralineNuts caramelised in sugar and ground to a paste. The caramelisation is the flavour and the grinding is the work.
- GiandujaNuts caramelised in sugar and ground to a paste. The caramelisation is the flavour and the grinding is the work.
- Milk chocolateNuts caramelised in sugar and ground to a paste. The caramelisation is the flavour and the grinding is the work.
Covered in
- Best chocolate for trufflesThe other classic centre, and a harder one.
Sources
- ChocolateHQ editorial synthesis — ChocolateHQ(citation identity confirmed; passage not re-read)
- The Science of Chocolate — Royal Society of Chemistry(citation identity confirmed; passage not re-read)