Count the Mondays this month

To count the number of Mondays in a month in an Excel cell, use the following formula:

=sumproduct(--(weekday(row(indirect((eomonth(today(),-1)+1) & ":" & (eomonth(today(),0)))))=2))

In December 2013, this returns 5.  How do you alter the formula for any day of the week?  Change the 2 at the end of the formula to the number corresponding to the day of the week:

• Sunday = 1
• Monday = 2
• Tuesday = 3
• Wednesday = 4
• Thursday = 5
• Friday = 6
• Saturday = 7

For example, changing the 2 to 6 would result in the number 4, as there are 4 Saturdays in December 2013.

As always, I welcome your comments.  Click on the Comment link below; it may say "No" or have a number in front of it.

Name of next month

To display the name of the next month in an Excel cell, use the following formula:

=text(now()+day(now()),"mmmm")

As always, I welcome your comments.  Click on the Comment link below; it may say "No" or have a number in front of it.

Add text after a formula

To add more text to a formula result in an Excel cell, put an ampersand (&) outside the end of the formula, then put a quotation mark (").  Type in your additional text, then close with another quotation mark (").  For example:

=text(now()-day(now()),"mmmm")&" paycheck"

This will returned the name of the month followed by the word paycheck.  In December, it returned December paycheck.  Note that there is a space after the first quotation mark.  That is so there is a space between my result and my text.  Without it, I would get Decemberpaycheck.

As always, I welcome your comments.  Click on the Comment link below; it may say "No" or have a number in front of it.

Name of previous month

To display the name of the previous month in an Excel cell, use the following formula:

=text(now()-day(now()),"mmmm")

As always, I welcome your comments.  Click on the Comment link below; it may say "No" or have a number in front of it.

Name of the current month

To display the name of the current month in an Excel cell, use the following formula:

=text(now(),"mmmm")

As always, I welcome your comments.  Click on the Comment link below; it may say "No" or have a number in front of it.

What I didn't know I didn't know about toffee

Spending all that time writing the truffle post made me think of the old peanut brittle post I did.  It has been languishing on another blog since being created, so I thought I would take the time to reformat it and post it to this relatively more popular blog.

What is the difference between toffee and brittle?  Both are slabs of crunchy candy, so where do the differences lie.

Toffee:  The first recording of the spelling toffee was in 1862, although other spellings existed as early as 1825 (“Online”).  It is believed to be a dialectical variation of taffy (“Taffy”), which itself is a dialectical word originating in 1817 and may have derived from tafia, a molasses liquor made in the West Indies (“Online”).  It is suggested that this is shortened from the West Indian Creole French word ratafia (“Online”) meaning a fruit or nut liqueur (“Ratafia” Dictionary.com) described as "fruits or nuts . . . steeped in a sweet spirit base (“Ratafia” US Restaurant Alliance) or a liqueur made from brandy with fruit juice, fruit, and/or wine added (“Ratafia” Free Dictionary).  The theory is the original candy was made as a bi-product of the wine production (“Online”).  In Britain, both hard and soft toffees are available.  Soft toffees are what we in The United States would call caramels (Oulton “Toffee”), though some classify them more like taffies (“What”).

An Internet search turned up this photo of Walker's Nonesuch Original Toffee.  In my opinion, this looks very much like American caramels.  Of course, I had to try some, but before ordering from Amazon, I decided to check out a local shop called British Home Shoppe.  After surveying items like canned rhubarb, I found the candy section.  There were many candies I have never heard of and will be back in the future to purchase.  However, I found the Walker's toffee for $2.50 and proceeded to the counter.  After paying for the toffee, the man behind the counter asked if I wanted him to hammer the toffee.  Apparently, part of the British toffee experience is hammering the toffee before unwrapping.  I passed on the hammering experience and took the toffee to the car.  Here is a picture of a toffee hammer.

Upon unwrapping, it was, indeed, very much like caramel but denser.  I had no trouble chewing it, although it did seem to have the consistency of taffy.  Maybe using the hammer is an English dental thing?  Anyway, U.S. caramels do seem much softer and easier to chew.  How did the candy taste?  It was buttery.  However, I had no problem eating it without the use of a hammer.  By the by, those toffee hammers were also used by suffragettes in the early 1910s to smash shop windows as a political protest.  This was the weapon of choice because the small toffee hammers could be easily hidden (“Toffee hammer”).  To this day, there are stores in England that will not sell a toffee hammer to a minor (Bennett).

Like toffee traditions, toffee recipes also differ between countries.  Here, we use white sugar and flavorings, whereas in Britain, the recipe is brown sugar or molasses, butter, and water (Oulton “Toffee”), although I am sure there are many variations I have not come across yet.  Americans beware here, because what we call English toffee is not English at all.  It is toffee with coatings, such as chocolate and nuts (Chu).  This type of candy is known in England as a buttercrunch (“Difference”).

Brittle:  The candy term brittle is said to have appeared in 1913 (“Brittle”), although the confection does make its appearance in 19th century American cookbooks (Polaski).  In fact, brittle-style candies are said to go way back in history, from an 1847 recipe for groundnut candy to as far back as the halva confection of 16th century Arabia (Olver).  When one reads the 1847 recipe, it sounds an awful lot like a recipe for toffee.  It consists of boiling molasses, brown sugar, and water and then adding nuts.  One change since then has been the addition of baking soda to the recipe to aerate the confection and make it easier to chew.  The exact timing of this event is not known to me, but it seems to have taken place some time between 1919 and 1942, based on historic recipes (Olver).  So until that time, there was very little difference between brittle and toffee.

The Walker's website does help to clarify a few of definitions.  The plain candy is referred to as original or creamy toffee, which is the caramel-like candy I purchased.  When nuts are added to the soft toffee, Walker's changes the name from original to English.  Great.  Just when I accepted that English toffee was an American candy bar, Walker's gives the same name to caramel filled with nuts.  The hard toffees offered by Walker's are peanut brittle and sesame crunch.  This proves toffee with something in it should have a different name.  Add nuts, and it becomes a brittle.  Add seeds, and it becomes a crunch? Well, the Walker's Crunch also has chocolate on top, so the topping makes it a crunch, like plain [butter] toffee is called a buttercrunch.

Where, then, do pralines [the New Orleans kind, not the Belgian] fit into all this?  After all, they are nut-filled sugar confections.  Well, based on the recipes I have reviewed, there are three differences between a brittle and a praline.  A brittle recipes uses water, whereas a praline recipe uses milk products, such as milk, evaporated milk, cream, and half-and-half.  French pralines were simply candy-coated nuts.  When these arrived in Louisiana, local pecans were used and cream was added, making the confection more fudge-like than brittle (“Praline”).  The second difference is cooking temperature.  Brittles are taken up to hard crack stage, over 300°F, but pralines stay in the soft ball stage around 240°F (“Candy-making”).  The last difference I have discovered is a brittle is poured to cool and then broken into bits but a praline is spooned out like a cookie.  In fact, Christensen calls pralines cookies instead of candies.

In Conclusion:  Brittle and toffee seem to have the same ancestors in candy making history.  Technically speaking, a toffee recipe will not include a leavening agent, but a brittle will, most often baking soda.  A brittle will be untopped, while a toffee can be coated with chocolate and nuts.  This is an English toffee in the States and a buttercrunch in the Kingdom.  On the other hand, toffee will have no added ingredients beyond sugar, fat, and water; but brittle can have various additions, from seeds to nuts, and should have no topping.  I have even seen recipes for jelly bean and candy corn brittle.  Brittle with milk and spooned out is a U.S. praline.

A few points about butter toffee before I close.  Butter toffee just means butter was added as part of the recipe.  The English recipes normally have butter; the U.S. recipes normally do not.  Just add butter, and you have butter toffee.  Butterscotch is butter toffee not cooked to a high enough temperature (Chu; Oulton “Toffee”).  Soft or creamy toffee is cooked to a lower temperature, and caramels are cooked even lower than that.  For my family, butter brickle is simply butter toffee.  The recipe on Cooks.com lists sugar, butter, and water; and Oulton (“Butter Brickle”) states, “Brickle is just an old English variant on the word brittle.”  This is confirmed by The Free Dictionary (“Brickle”).

As always, I welcome your comments.  Click on the Comment link below; it may say "No" or have a number in front of it.

References:

Bennett, Derek. “Why Can't Under Sixteens Buy Toffee Hammers?” Derek Bennett, The Euro Sceptic. N.p., 23 Dec. 2010. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

“Brickle.” The Free Dictionary. Farlex, Inc., n.d. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

“Brittle.” Merriam-Webster Online. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, n.d. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

“Butter Brickle Candy.” Cooks.com Recipe Search. Cooks.com, n.d. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

“Candy-making Stages: The Cold Water Candy Test.” The Accidental Scientist: Science of Cooking. Exploratorium, n.d. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

Christensen, Emma. “Make Perfect Pralines: Five Secrets from a New Orleans Pro.” The Kitchn. Apartment Therapy, 23 June 2011. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

Chu, Michael. “English Toffee.” Cooking For Engineers. CFE Enterprises, Inc., 5 Feb. 2006. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

“The Difference Between Buttercrunch & Toffee.&lduo; The Nibble. Lifestyle Direct, Inc., June 2012. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

“Online Etymology Dictionary.” etymonline.com. Douglas Harper, n.d. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

Olver, Lynne, ed. “Food Timeline FAQs: Candy.” The Food Timeline. Lynne Olver, 8 Dec. 2013. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

Oulton, Randal. “Butter Brickle.” CooksInfo.com. CooksInfo.com, 2 Dec. 2007. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.
-- “Toffee.” CooksInfo.com. CooksInfo.com, 14 Feb. 2011. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

“Pecan Pralines Recipes.” Southern Living. Time Inc., n.d. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

Polaski, Helen. “The History of Peanut Brittle Candy.” Life123. Life123, Inc., an IAC Company, n.d. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

“Praline.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc, 27 May 2013. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

“Ratafia.” Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, LLC, n.d. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

“Ratafia.” The Free Dictionary. Farlex, Inc., n.d. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

“Ratafia.” US Restaurant Alliance. The U.S. Restaurant Alliance®, n.d. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

“Toffee.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc, 19 Dec. 2013. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

“Toffee hammer used by militant suffragettes: c.1911.” Museum of London Online Store. Museum of London, n.d. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

“What is English Toffee?” wiseGEEK. Conjecture Corporation, n.d. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

What I didn't know I didn't know about truffles

We all know that truffles, those bite-size chocolate candies, are named after the mushroom because of their similar appearance.  However, the origin of the first chocolate truffle is disputed.  Although most sources claim truffles were created in France (Hochman “History”, Thornborrow), stories of how the truffle was created differ.  One such story is an apprentice of Escoffier accidentally poured hot cream in chocolate instead of sugared egg some time in the 1920s (Hochman “History”), albeit the same author claims in a different article this happened in the 19^th century (Hochman “What”).  The 1920s time frame is echoed on other websites (Olver) and by the appearance of truffle recipes in cookbooks of the time (Rigby & Rigby 90).  Wikipedia claims the inventor is “N.Petruccelli in Chambéry, France in December 1895.”  However, the website used for the citation no longer exists.  Deitsch verifies most of this information but presents Louis Dufour as simultaneously inventing both ganache and truffles.  Giovannangeli expounds upon the story thusly:

The invention of these luxury chocolate confections is credited to French pâtissier Louis Dufour, who is said to have created the first chocolate truffles in the town of Chambéry (Savoie department) in December 1895 after running short of ingredients while making his Christmas sweets.

Rather than turning to his competitors to purchase supplies, Monsieur Dufour hit upon the idea of mixing together the ingredients at hand — fresh cream, vanilla and cocoa powder —, dipping the resulting confections in melted chocolate and rolling them in more cocoa powder.

The new chocolate treats were an instant success and their popularity remains to this day, notably during Christmas and end-of-year festivities.

To be fair to Wikipedia, neither of the other websites gives a source, and the invention of ganache is placed in the 1850s by other sources (1234; Jaworski).

Wikipedia also claims there are different styles of truffles, although there are no citations for several of them.  [It is interesting how many more types of truffles there are since I first saw that Wikipedia page in October 2011.]  The ones with citations include the Swiss truffle, made with ganache and formed in a mold (Minifie 545).  This is virtually the same as a French truffle, made with ganache and rolled into a ball.  What became known as the California truffle was actually a failure of a French truffle recipe (Barron).  The so-called American truffle is described down to the ingredients even though the citation's author never mentions them (Hallock).  Wikipedia goes on to claim there is a Belgian truffle, yet the cited blog post claims these are pralinés but are called truffles because there is no accented e in the English language (“Pralines VS Truffles”).  Wikipedia uses this blog's commercial website to define Vegan truffles as using “nut butters and oils,” but the website mentions only coconut oil (“Fine Artisanal Belgian Chocolates”).  In contrast to Wikipedia's growing list, the Punchbowl website lists only three styles:  Swiss, European, and American (“Today's”).  This is why Wikipedia is not a valid source when writing college papers.  This also raises another question.  What are the technical specifications for a truffle?

Hallock defines a truffle as “hand-rolled balls of ganache, sometimes dipped in chocolate, often rolled in cocoa powder.  Ganache is a mixture of chocolate and heated cream.”  This truffle definition is echoed Deitsch, Hochman (“History”), LaBau, Olver, and Weston, among others, though Merriam-Webster does not mention ganache (“Truffle”).  That's it, then.  A truffle is made with a ganache center without chunks but possibly flavored and then coated with something, traditionally cocoa powder but sugar, candy shells, spices, and nuts are acceptable.  “Really, the sky is the limit with truffles, as long as they're made with ganache (Deitsch).”  Anything without ganache should not be considered a truffle (Deitsch; Hochman “Truffles”).

We Statesians [I don't want to lump in other portions of the Americas] are simply too lazy to use alternate terms, even though our language has over 1 million words!  I have just discovered, to my chagrin, that this has been going on for almost a century, as a recipe for chocolate truffle with vanilla cream center appeared in a 1920s cookbook (Rigby & Rigby 90).  Truffle did not appear in the 1909 version of the book (Rigby), although it did contain the same instructions for making chocolate-coated confections.  Apparently, one simply rolls the confection in coconut to make it a truffle.  [Just as a personal aside, it is also interesting to note that these are the only two editions of the book that have survived even though they got up to the 13^th edition.]

Unfortunately, I may have to take back that opinion about my countrymen.  Hochman in “Truffles Vs. Pralines: The Difference” explains how the confusion evolved.  In a nutshell, the first chocolate fillings had to be solid, such as nuts.  In 1912, a Belgian chocolatier invented a way to enrobe softer fillings, and he called these confections pralinés, the same word used in Belgium for candied nuts.  The French, on the other hand, called them bonbons, a term coined in the 1770s which means candy (“Bonbon”).  Someone eventually had the idea to use ganache as a filling for candy.  Whether coated with cocoa or enrobed in chocolate, the French called them truffles but the Belgians still called them pralinés.  Now comes the trip across the pond.  Since we already had our own pralinés, which was really a brittle, the Belgian candies were called Belgian chocolates.  The French candies were called truffles.  Both were enrobed in chocolate.  Therefore, all bite-size enrobed chocolates became truffles.  That is why you will sometimes buy a box of chocolate truffles and get fillings like caramel, nuts, or that icky coconut stuff.

In conclusion, a truffle is a bonbon but a bonbon is not necessarily a truffle.  A bonbon in France is a praliné in Belgium.  A praliné in the United States is a brittle but a brittle is not necessarily a praliné.  A brittle in the United States is a toffee in Britain, but that's a different dissertation.  What it all boils down to is there is no governing body for truffles, so any candy maker can call any candy a truffle.

As always, I welcome your comments.  Click on the Comment link below; it may say "No" or have a number in front of it.

References:

1234. “Ganache is discovered in Paris.” ∞timeline. Famento, Inc., n.d. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

Barron, Cheryll Aimee. “Madam Cocolat.” The New York Times 25 Sept. 1988: n. pag. Print.

“Bonbon.” Merriam-Webster Online. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, n.d. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

“Chocolate truffle.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc, 20 Dec. 2013. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

Deitsch, Lauren. “Will the Real Chocolate Truffle Please Stand Up?” Huffpost Taste. TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc., 4 June 2013. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

“Fine Artisanal Belgian Chocolates.” Chocolats Meurens New York. Chocolats Meurens, n.d. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

Giovannangeli, Françoise, ed. “Dark Chocolate Truffles with Cognac and Orange Extract.” ChocoParis. www.chocoparis.com, 2 Jan. 2011. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

Hallock, Betty. “Sweet surrender.” Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company, 8 Feb. 2006. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

Hochman, Karen. “The History Of Chocolate Truffles.” The Nibble. Lifestyle Direct, Inc., Dec. 2007. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.
-- “Truffles Vs. Pralines: The Difference.” The Nibble. Lifestyle Direct, Inc., May 2013. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.
-- “What is Chocolate Ganache?” The Nibble. Lifestyle Direct, Inc., May 2013. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

Jaworski, Stephanie. "Ganache Recipe & Video." JoyofBaking.com. iFood Media LLC, n.d. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

LaBau, Elizabeth. “Truffles.” About.com Candy. About.com, n.d. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

Minifie, Bernard W. Chocolate, Cocoa and Confectionery: Science and Technology. 3rd ed. Gaithersburg, Md: Aspen Publishers, 1999. Print.

Olver, Lynne, ed. “Food Timeline FAQs: Candy.” The Food Timeline. N.p., 8 Dec. 2013. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

“Pralines VS Truffles.” makingchocolates. ChocolatsMeurens.com, 16 Apr. 2011. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

Rigby, Will O. Rigby's Reliable Candy Teacher and Soda and Ice Cream Formulas. N.p., 1909. Print.

Rigby, Will O., and Fred Rigby. Rigby's Reliable Candy Teacher. 13th ed. Topeka, KS: Rigby Pub. Co, 1920. Print.

Thornborrow, Craig. “A Tasty History of Chocolate Truffles.” EzineArticles. SparkNET, 24 Dec. 2007. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

“Today's Reason to Celebrate.” Punchbowl. Punchbowl, Inc., n.d. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

“Truffle.” Merriam-Webster Online. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, n.d. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.

Weston, Nicole. “What are chocolate truffles?” Baking Bites. N.p., 13 Feb. 2011. Web. 25 Dec. 2013.