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Technique Theory: Dragées
Appears in
By Peter Greweling and Culinary Institute of America
Published 2007
- COMBINE SUGAR WITH WATER IN A LARGE SAUCEPAN OR COPPER KETTLE. COOK THE SUGAR TO THE THREAD STAGE (112°C/234°F). The sugar for the dragée technique is always cooked without the addition of any type of doctoring agent so that it will crystallize after the nuts are added. Cooking the sugar to the thread stage ensures that the syrup will be supersaturated upon cooling and so will crystallize when it is stirred. The sugar should simply coat the nuts but not be caramelized at this stage. Caramelization will occur on the nuts when the nuts themselves toast later in the process.
- ADD THE UNTOASTED NUTS, REMOVE FROM THE HEAT, AND STIR VIGOROUSLY UNTIL THE SUGAR CRYSTALLIZES, COATING THE NUTS WITH A SKIN OF SUGAR CRYSTALS. Untoasted nuts are used for dragéeing because they will toast during the dragée process. When the concentrated sugar syrup is removed from the heat and the nuts are added, the syrup cools, making it supersaturated. Stirring the syrup with the nuts in it causes the syrup to crystallize rapidly, creating a skin of sugar crystals on the outside of the nuts. This skin becomes the caramel coating after further cooking.
- RETURN TO MODERATE HEAT. COOK, STIRRING CONSTANTLY, UNTIL THE SUGAR MELTS AND CARAMELIZES FULLY AND THE NUTS ARE TOASTED. Moderate heat is the best way to ensure that the sugar crystals melt and caramelize evenly and that the nuts toast simultaneously. It is important during this step to stir constantly and to monitor the heat to prevent hot spots that can scorch the nuts. It is a common error to stop cooking too early. The nuts should remain on the heat until the sugar is completely melted, forming a smooth caramel coating on each piece.
- ADD BUTTER TO THE NUT MIXTURE. STIR UNTIL THE BUTTER MELTS AND COATS THE NUTS. The addition of butter provides flavor and helps prevent the caramel from picking up moisture from the air as it cools, but the primary purpose of adding butter is to make the nuts easier to separate into individual kernels after cooking. The layer of fat prevents the nuts from sticking together, forming one large agglomerate of caramelized nuts. Too much butter added at this stage will prevent the chocolate from hardening properly when it is added.
- POUR THE CARAMELIZED NUTS ONTO AN OILED MARBLE SLAB. A stone slab draws heat quickly from the hot nuts, cooling them.
- AS THE NUTS ARE COOLING, SEPARATE THEM INTO INDIVIDUAL KERNELS USING GLOVED FINGERS. As the nuts cool, they must be separated into individual kernels so that they can be coated with chocolate. This is best accomplished by hand, using gloves both for sanitation and to protect the fingers from the heat of the caramel.
- ALLOW THE NUTS TO COOL TO ROOM TEMPERATURE. Once separated, the nuts must cool to room temperature in order for the chocolate to set on them. The nuts can hold heat inside even after they appear to be properly cooled. It is best to err on the side of allowing extra time, perhaps as long as an hour, for the nuts to cool so that the chocolate will set quickly when it is added.
- REFRIGERATE THE NUTS BRIEFLY TO CHILL THEM SLIGHTLY. Chilling the nuts slightly causes the chocolate to set efficiently when it is added, reducing the time that must be spent stirring. Overchilling is likely to cause condensation on the nuts, dissolving the caramel and diminishing the quality. Refrigeration for 5 to 10 minutes is all that should be necessary.
- PLACE THE CARAMEL-COATED NUTS IN A LARGE STAINLESS-STEEL BOWL. POUR A SMALL QUANTITY OF TEMPERED CHOCOLATE ONTO THEM. STIR VIGOROUSLY UNTIL THE CHOCOLATE SETS AND THE NUTS ARE SEPARATED INTO INDIVIDUAL KERNELS. The stainless-steel mixing bowl takes the place of a panning machine. In the dragée technique, the tumbling action of the nuts comes from manual stirring rather than from the rotation of a motorized pan. The chocolate used for dragéeing is tempered—unlike that used for panning—so that it will set quickly. Stirring must continue until the chocolate has set to the point at which the nuts are no longer in a mass but have again separated into individual kernels.
- POUR THE NUTS ONTO A SHEET PAN AND REFRIGERATE FOR 5 MINUTES. The nuts are chilled slightly after each addition of chocolate so that the next layer of chocolate will set quickly with a minimum of stirring.
- REPEAT STEPS 9 AND 10 UNTIL THREE ADDITIONS OF CHOCOLATE HAVE BEEN PUT ON THE NUTS. AFTER THE THIRD ADDITION, SIFT COCOA POWDER, CONFECTIONERS’ SUGAR, OR A COMBINATION OF THE TWO ONTO THE NUTS. Three coats of chocolate are usually sufficient to cover the nuts with a layer of chocolate, but more can be added as desired. Unlike panned nuts, dragées are not polished to a high shine using glazes and polish but are finished more rustically with cocoa powder or confectioners’ sugar.
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