Comments on: French Pastries

By: dustin

dustin — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 16:53:01 +0000

i enjoyed looking at this site. i am not one to be a no-it-all, so please forgive me, but there were some problems i noticed that should be addressed. these critisisms are only comming from a “classic” point of view.

the brioche a tete is made from one piece of dough which is rolled with one finger pressing down on one end to produce the small head at the top.

the when making almond croissants you need to be using almond cream not almont paste. i am only pointing out the difference for people who don’t know the difference. i knew what was meant, but technically speaking almond cream and almond paste are two different things. almond “cream” is made from almond paste with an addition of more sugar and egg whites to sweeten and lighten respectively. almond paste is very thick usually and not suited for filling a dlecate pastry like a croissant.

the madeleines which were displayed in the picture were shown scalloped side up. it should be noted that when displaying them for sale in a show case they should be scalloped side down if you are interested in doing it the traditional french way. the reason that was given to me by my chef instructor was this. when they are baked properly they will have a little hump in the middle of the top side of the pastry. when displaying them for sale the patissiere wants to show that they have been properly baked, showing the “humped” side up.

i noticed that there were students looking at this site so i just wanted to help.

i enjoyed reading this..i love pastry. thank you julie
dustin

By: adam

adam — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 06:15:03 +0000

very good, i am happy when find this topic. thanks

By: Amy

Amy — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:05:15 +0000

wow…this is a really useful thing! you helped me finish a project due the day after i found this. You rock!
Your buddy,
Amy

By: Adrienne

Adrienne — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:19:28 +0000

Either way, who cares what it translates to. it was nice enough for her to put this up. if your worried about what it translates to then you should be using multiple sources to concur what you believe is true. Now… thanks for writing this b/c im a baking and pastry student and Im in the middle of a project on a bunch of classic pastries and this helped a lot!

By: Jon

Jon — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:51:47 +0000

Sorry to correct you that was so quick to correct, but I believe the author was referring to the literal translation of choux…which means cabbage… not eclair! Thanks!

Your humble student of French,
JS

By: Hana

Hana — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:54:14 +0000

Umm.. Eclair means Thunder.. And its eaten during storms.

I hate correcting people. Sorry!

And it may be both meanings, but the way I was taught is that it means thunder.

Sincerely,