A smooth mixture of chocolate and cream, often with butter, used as a filling, frosting, or glaze for pastries and desserts. The ratio of chocolate to cream determines its consistency, from pourable glaze to firm truffle centers.
From French 'ganache,' originally meaning 'jowl' or a derogatory term for a fool. The culinary term emerged in the mid-19th century, possibly named by a pastry chef's apprentice who accidentally poured hot cream into chocolate and was called a fool, only to discover the delicious result.
Ganache is actually an emulsion, like mayonnaise, where the cocoa butter in chocolate acts as the fat phase and cream provides the water phase - understanding this helps explain why ganache can 'break' if the temperatures are wrong or if you add the liquid too quickly. The perfect 1:1 ratio of chocolate to cream creates a ganache that's firm enough to roll into truffles but soft enough to spread when warmed.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.