Pam Williams, Founder and Lead Instructor at Ecole Chocolat, and Richard Tango Lowy, Instructor at Ecole Chocolat and owner of Dancing Lion Chocolate, have written, with the help of Alysha Kropf, Program and Marketing Director at Ecole Chocolat, the definition for the term “ganache”.
Both Pam and Alysha have always stressed the importance of having a glossary of chocolate terms, to ensure everyone in the industry has the same understanding of terminology and is speaking a common language.
“Creating a common language is critical for our industry to move forward in an unified way, which is the only way we can hope to make an impact,” Alysha said.
Especially for people who are new to fine chocolate, a glossary ensures they can communicate effectively within the industry.
Ecole Chocolat has been providing its students with their own glossary since 2003. And when Pam co-founded FCIA, she included a glossary on the FCIA website.
Pam and Alysha chose “ganache” as their term because it is the most popular filling for chocolates. Ganache appears in just about every chocolatier’s product line, as well as in the product lines of chocolate makers who do bonbons as well.
Understanding the science behind chocolate has always been important to Pam and Alysha. They always incorporate chocolate science into their educational programs.
With ganache being so popular, it felt important to them to delve into this science as part of their Ganache Recipe Development Masterclass. Their instructor for that program, Richard Tango Lowy, has spent considerable time investigating the science behind the perfect ganache.
Check out their definition here.
Tip from Alysha: Try chocolate bars or bonbons that really push you out of your comfort zone. There are so many creative fillings and inclusions available nowadays — soya sauce caramel, mushroom chocolate bars, kimchi chocolate bars — and the list goes on. While these may not naturally seem like they would pair well with chocolate, you might be surprised at how delicious they are!
