White Chocolate Ganache...what Kind/brand Do You Use??
Baking By tinygoose Updated 2 Jul 2010 , 11:53pm by 3LittleBeesCookies
I know there's a lot of thread out there about how to make it, and I've got the recipe. I made it the other night with white chocolate chips (Nestle), and it was ok, maybe a bit grainy. I was just wondering if there is a preferred white chocolate that everyone uses....chips, melts, bar? What brand do you like?
I don't really have the time or $$ to experiment much. I using a 3:1 ratio.
Also wondering do you whip or just stir before spreading on the cake, the stuff I made was too think to crumb coat with, so I had to whip it a bit.
TIA
I use E. Guittard chocolate. any couveture chocolate will give you better results.
You can buy the candy melts at Michael or AC Moore. They are very reasonable, melt smooth - not necessarily a gourmet quality, but it will work.
But they're NOT chocolate. I use Baker's White Chocolate squares. I also use them in my fondant. I bought the Hershey's Premier White Chips but they're about like using candy melts.
Well the store was a disappointment. They had Guittard, but not in white. No white in the Bakers chocolate either. The only one they had was Ghiradelli bars in white (has cocoa butter in it, but no idea how much) and two kinds of white chips (you're right! no cocoa butter in those.)
Sooo 4oz of Ghiradelli at $3.99 a bar or 11 oz of white choc. chips at $3.59 a bag......hmmmm..... well I bought some of both. This is a family cake at a "family rate" so I'm not really all excited about spending $40 on chocolate.
Thanks for your help guys. I guess I better look into buying it online...any fav sources? When I was a kid they used to sell broken blocks of the stuff at Safeway, but I don't see it anymore.
Yep, sad but true. I can't afford "real" white chocolate like Bakers so my family and friends will have to settle for Nestle or Ghiradelli chips. No one's complained yet 
I found this site - everything you wanted to know about ganache. http://www.baking911.com/chocolate/ganache_truffles.htm
Yep, sad but true. I can't afford "real" white chocolate like Bakers so my family and friends will have to settle for Nestle or Ghiradelli chips. No one's complained yet
Ghirardelli is real, so you have been giving your family the good stuff! It's Nestle, Hershey's, candy melts, and store brand white chocolate that is flavoring, hydro oils, etc. But, I think they are ok to use in a pinch!
Yep, sad but true. I can't afford "real" white chocolate like Bakers so my family and friends will have to settle for Nestle or Ghiradelli chips. No one's complained yet
Ghirardelli is real, so you have been giving your family the good stuff! It's Nestle, Hershey's, candy melts, and store brand white chocolate that is flavoring, hydro oils, etc. But, I think they are ok to use in a pinch!
If you have a Trader Joe's near you, they usually sell broken blocks of Ghiradelli white chocolate that is reasonably priced.
Sorry for the double post. Trader Joe's also has real white chocolate chips that are their brand, which are good. I prefer to chop up a bar for ganache, but you can make them w/chips. I find the ganache to not be as smooth when made w/ chips tho.
Wasn't sure exactly what is considered 'real' white chocolate, so found a definition.
http://www.sallybernstein.com/food/columns/zonis/white_chocolate.htm
White chocolate, as most of you know, isnt real chocolate at all. Why not? Real chocolate must contain cocoa solids (the dry solids that give it both brown color and a good deal of flavor). White chocolate contains cocoa butter, milk powder, sugar, and, often, flavorings (vanilla is a popular one).
The FDA finally authorized a standard of identity for white chocolate, effective 1 January, 2004; real white chocolate must contain at least 20% cocoa butter, 14% milk solids, and 3.5% milk fat. It cannot contain more than 55% sugar or other nutritive carbohydrate sweeteners.
[...]Real white chocolate contains no vegetable fat other than cocoa butter. It is a creamy, off-white color with a yellowish cast to it. Confectionery coating, often seen in wafers, is pure white.
[...]chocolate is quite heat-sensitive. White chocolate is especially so, and great care must be taken during the melting process to avoid scorching it.
If you have a Trader Joe's near you, they usually sell broken blocks of Ghiradelli white chocolate that is reasonably priced.
Ughh I wish! My local one doesn't, and I'm in there EVERY Tues so that would be convenient!
I've found larger bags of Guittard at Cost Plus World Market (of all places) for $4/bag (on sale right now for $2/bag) which is palm oil AND cocoa butter, which will suffice!
mamawrobin you said you use chocolate in fondant & what do you use it for or does it become like clay. Just curious?
No it's not like clay it's just white chocolate fondant. I make Michele Foster's fondant recipe and 99% of the time I make the white chocolate version because it taste so very good. The chocolate also adds pliability to the fondant.
Yep, sad but true. I can't afford "real" white chocolate like Bakers so my family and friends will have to settle for Nestle or Ghiradelli chips. No one's complained yet
Ghirardelli is real, so you have been giving your family the good stuff! It's Nestle, Hershey's, candy melts, and store brand white chocolate that is flavoring, hydro oils, etc. But, I think they are ok to use in a pinch!
These are the ones I use, http://www.ghirardelli.com/products/chips_white.aspx Sadly not so real, no mention of cocoa butter to be had and notice they say "white chips" nothing about "chocolate" Oh well, like I said, no complaints
Yep, sad but true. I can't afford "real" white chocolate like Bakers so my family and friends will have to settle for Nestle or Ghiradelli chips. No one's complained yet
Ghiradelli chips aren't that bad..I don't mind using those but I don't care for the Nestle or Hershey's chips. As far as cost....I can get a 6 ounce of Bakers White Chocolate for $1.90 at Wal-Mart. Haven't found it that cheap anywhere else though. I buy a case at a time. 
Yep, sad but true. I can't afford "real" white chocolate like Bakers so my family and friends will have to settle for Nestle or Ghiradelli chips. No one's complained yet
Ghiradelli chips aren't that bad..I don't mind using those but I don't care for the Nestle or Hershey's chips. As far as cost....I can get a 6 ounce of Bakers White Chocolate for $1.90 at Wal-Mart. Haven't found it that cheap anywhere else though. I buy a case at a time.
I was so excited to check my local Wally world after u mentioned this...to no avail 
Wonder if they'll do site-to-store for this... 
hehehe
I apologize for this, but as you can see I can't type in the link because it keeps getting blocked. The website is Baking 911 but when you type it out there is no space between the 2 words.
I hope you can figure it out since it's a really helpful link regarding ganache, including white and dark chocolate.
look for these ghiradelli baking bars:
http://www.ghirardelli.com/products/bars_white.aspx
I've seen then in WallyWorld and more upscale grocery stores.
(and Sam's sometimes has them during Christmas holiday season)
Yep, sad but true. I can't afford "real" white chocolate like Bakers so my family and friends will have to settle for Nestle or Ghiradelli chips. No one's complained yet
Ghiradelli chips aren't that bad..I don't mind using those but I don't care for the Nestle or Hershey's chips. As far as cost....I can get a 6 ounce of Bakers White Chocolate for $1.90 at Wal-Mart. Haven't found it that cheap anywhere else though. I buy a case at a time.
What the heck? At my local Walmarts (There's three in a 15 mile radius!) the 6oz of Baker's is around 2.90!!! And I usually need around 24oz if I'm doing ganache at 3:1 so they're usually out of my price range
Yep, sad but true. I can't afford "real" white chocolate like Bakers so my family and friends will have to settle for Nestle or Ghiradelli chips. No one's complained yet
Ghiradelli chips aren't that bad..I don't mind using those but I don't care for the Nestle or Hershey's chips. As far as cost....I can get a 6 ounce of Bakers White Chocolate for $1.90 at Wal-Mart. Haven't found it that cheap anywhere else though. I buy a case at a time.
What the heck? At my local Walmarts (There's three in a 15 mile radius!) the 6oz of Baker's is around 2.90!!! And I usually need around 24oz if I'm doing ganache at 3:1 so they're usually out of my price range
Yep, that was the price today at my Walmart. I bought it anyways and I do prefer it over nestle. I use ganache as the crumbcoat for all of my cakes, so if they prefer white chocolate over semi-sweet/dark, then they can pay the difference!
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