How do they get the soft centres into liqueur chocolates and after-dinner mints? With invertase, naturally.
HOW IS IT DONE?
A solid paste with the consistency of fudge is made using sucrose (table sugar). A small amount of invertase is added to this fondant before it is enrobed in chocolate. During storage for a couple of weeks at 18 °C, the enzyme partially liquefies the sucrose within the chocolate shell.
HOW LONG HAVE MANUFACTURERS BEEN USING THIS METHOD?
A US government chemist, H.S. Paine, first suggested this method in 1924. Modern machinery (that freezes the half-shell) allows syrupy centres to added to pre-cast chocolate shells (such as fondant-filled Easter eggs - aka 'Creme eggs' in the UK), removing the need for enzymatic treatment.
WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE
The following publication briefly mentions the use of invertase in sweet-making:
McGee on food and cooking by Harold McGee (2005) Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN: 0 340 83149 9.
The University of York Chemical Industry Education Centre has an excellent practical booklet, 'Sweet success', aimed at 14-16 year-olds on the production of Creme Eggs:
http://www.york.ac.uk/org/ciec/secondary_publications.htm
A more advanced general booklet for schools is Enzymes and their role in biotechnology by Paul Wymer and A. Teal. This is one of a series of booklets aimed at post-16 students produced by the Biochemical Society and available from their Web site:
http://www.biochemistry.org/education/basc03.htm
The 16 chromosomes of S. cerevisiae's genome have been sequenced. Information is available from these Web sites:
http://www.yeastgenome.org/
http://mips.gsf.de/genre/proj/yeast/index.jsp
Information about invertase can be found at the second of these sites.
SOURCE
Invertase is produced by baker's yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Safety guidelines for practical work with enzymes in schoolscan be found here.
ACTIVITY
IMPORTANT NOTE
The NCBE supplies these enzymes to schools and colleges for educational use. Commercial users of enzymes or those requiring enzymes for research purposes should contact the enzyme manufacturers, not the NCBE.
Invertase (also known as sucrase or saccharase) splits the disaccharide sucrose into the monosaccharides glucose and fructose. Invertase is inhibited by high concentrations of its substrate, sucrose.
The invertase we supply has optimum activity at 60 °C. Its optimum pH is 4.5 (the pH is usually adjusted to this level by the addition of citric acid to the reaction mix), although it is active between pH 3.0 and 5.5. Inactivation of the enzyme begins at 65 °C and the enzyme is totally inactivated after 5 minutes at 90 °C.
STORAGE
The enzyme preparation should be stored at 3-5 °C. At this temperature the enzyme will maintain its declared activity for at least a year.
INVERTASE PREPARATION (Liquid)
Invertase (Maxinvert L 10 000).... 100 mL .... £13.50 (GBP)
Please note: All the prices on this page are in GBP and do not include Value Added Tax (VAT). This tax applies within the European Union only. Postage and packing must also be paid on orders from outside the United Kingdom.
Please note: We do not currently accept orders via eMail.
Copyright © National Centre for Biotechnology Education, 2008 http://www.ncbe.reading.ac.uk/menu.html
The close-up : special 2-cavity box gold and creme swirling away the romance tunes.....
Part of the 1800pcs lot - yet to be stickered and ribbonised. 
Tak banyak kerenah , Ita nak blue ribbon saja, sebab dulang hantaran dah sarat berbunga, katanya tapi saya letakkan juga sekuntum bunga kecil untuk menaikkan seri coklat!
Part of 50pcs chocolate moist cupcakes with ganache topping and white choc strips also strawberry flavored chocolate swirls. Mariani ordered for her 3 kiddos to take to school for Teachers' Day celebration. Each one has 16pcs in a box, as simple deco as requested. Unexpectedly, received a call from one of the teacher who receive this cake from Mariani's kid, requesting a class for her and her two friends. InsyaAllah-hi biiznillah cikgu, bisa di aturrr...Alhamdulillah.
Caution: it's edible! My white chocolate rose sprayed with edible rose coloring using air brushing technique. Anyone for hantaran?
New chick bites...truffle, chocolate filled gianduja and pailette fuilletines....
