Pear in a Bottle?

During last Monday's dedicated reading time, I finally cracked open Notter's The Art of the Chocolatier. Not surprisingly, it started with a history of chocolate, the cultivation of cacao, and the transformation of chocolate as it moved from one culture to another across the globe. But I wasn't expecting the descriptions of "other ingredients" employed by chocolatiers to be so interesting. In particular, the section on alcohol in chocolate, and specifically brandy, was eye opening.

I've experimented with alcohol in chocolate on more than a few occasions. While training, I made a port wine truffle as one of my assignments. I've also made truffles with local beers and ciders - pictured here is a dark chocolate truffle flavoured with Island Folk Cider House blueberry cider and rolled in pulverized freeze dried blueberries. Most recently, I made cointreau truffles following the Notter recipe. As I've tested these recipes, I've observed the interesting effects that alcohol has on the texture of the ganache and enjoyed the flavour possibilities (though it's clear from my circle of chocolate testers that alcohol in chocolate is divisive).

Brandy, however, is a bit of a foreign concept to me.

Apparently my grandmother kept a bottle of apricot brandy in her fridge. Not that I ever saw it, of course, but my aunt Rosella told me about it back in the late 1990s. You see, my grandmother also kept a bottle of apricot brandy in Rosella's fridge for when she was visiting the east coast. Years after nan's passing, while I was "in town" pursuing my undergraduate degree in music, Rosella still had her apricot brandy in the crisper drawer of her fridge. I don't know if Rosella ever drank any of it, but it was clear that the bottle had meaning for her.  

Apricot brandy doesn't make it into Notter's book; he instead focuses on Kirschwasser (cherry) and Williams pear. The description of Williams pear brandy is fascinating:

"Many bottles of Williams pear brandy are sold with a pear inside. To achieve this, growers hang empty bottles on their trees and insert the young fruit buds, which are trained to grow inside the bottles until the fruit becomes fully matured and ripened. The bottle and pear are removed from the tree and carefully cleaned. The brandy is then added and the bottle sealed." (Notter, The Art of the Chocolatier, page 24)

Now, I've heard of a letter in a bottle. I've seen a model ship in a bottle. I've even danced to the song "Genie in a Bottle" during my clubbing days. But a pear in a bottle? It feels like a "when I see an elephant fly" moment. Finding one also sounds like exactly the sort of quest that my nerdy self enjoys, so it's going on the bucket list!

First, though, I think I should find a bottle of apricot brandy to toast my grandmother. And I'm adding "develop an apricot brandy bonbon" to my list of chocolate inspiration. That's the point of this Monday-night chocolate exploration, of course - to identify new techniques and flavour combinations that I can work on to advance my craft. 

Prost!