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Post by chadmart1076 on Feb 25, 2014 13:32:33 GMT -5
First, I know that I can't use liquid honey, as it will seize the chocolate. But I found this honey that has a very low carb count (relative to sugar or other honey), and I would like to use it to make a low carb chocolate. I figured that I could heat it to hard-crack stage, let it set up and then process it in a food processor to make powder, then use that instead of sugar. That said I have a few concerns. - Honey is sweeter than sugar, therefore it seems likely that a 60% honey dark will be sweeter than a 60% sugar dark, and therefore if I want a similar level of sweetness then I may need to reduce the amount of honey relative to the cacao solids/butter, maybe 70% dark instead of 60%?
- Will the honey crystals "melt" during the refining process and seize the chocolate?
- Are honey crystals significantly different from sugar crystals where it will wreck the tempering process?
Finally, I am open to suggestions for other sugar substitutes to make a low carb chocolate.
Does anyone have any experience (successful or failures) with using honey in place of sugar and/or using other sugar substitutes?
Thanks.
P.S. I also know that Olive and Sinclaire chocolate is made with brown sugar. How does that not seize the chocolate, as brown sugar contains molasses which contains water (although very little). And finally, I was also planning to try out a batch using Sugar in the Raw, anyone have experience with that?
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Post by Ben on Feb 25, 2014 15:01:30 GMT -5
Hi Chad. There's a lot of discussions on this forum about using honey and other alternative sweeteners in chocolate. Some of them say that they've used them successfully. I'd suggest doing a search for honey and reading the existing threads. There's a good chance that your questions have already been answered.
-Ben
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Post by kevin on Feb 26, 2014 13:04:44 GMT -5
I read somewhere that the guy at Chocolate Conspiracy uses liquid honey in his bean-to-bar chocolate. I guess it can be done.
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Post by chadmart1076 on Feb 27, 2014 13:45:01 GMT -5
Thanks guys for the responses. Ben, I searched honey and came up with a couple of threads, but nothing where anyone had any actual experience in using it. I would love to hear from people who have actually used it and see if it worked or didn't work very well for them.
Thanks.
P.S. I looked up Chocolate Conspiracy and they do list raw, unfiltered honey as their sweetener. I emailed to see if they would give me some insight on how it's done. I'll update as I get more info.
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gap
Apprentice
Posts: 390
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Post by gap on Feb 27, 2014 16:45:12 GMT -5
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Post by Sebastian on Feb 27, 2014 17:55:12 GMT -5
You'll find that honey will always be challenging to work with in chocolate. There's many different types of sugars, and the type of sugar found in honey, in combination with the fact that honey itself is relatively high in moisture, don't lend themselves to ease of handling with chocolate. Brown sugar is a significantly different type of sugar composition than honey.
If working with liquid honey, you can expect much higher visocosities as a result. Starting with a high fat (low viscosity) chocolate, and taking as much moisture out of the honey as you can will help, but note that it will always be a difficult ingredient to work with. Plating it onto a carrier such as maltodextrin can make it easier to work with, but it will be granular and contribute a noticeable mouthfeel. Rather than fight that, perhaps position it as a 'back in the day' chocolate product with spices and granular texture, for use in making true, colonial style hot chocolate beverages? Granualtion doesn't much matter if you're going to stir it into hot milk.
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Post by Ben on Feb 28, 2014 14:51:14 GMT -5
I thought there was more honey-usage info on the forums, but you're right--there doesn't appear to be any posts from people actually using it. Sorry Chad!
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Post by chadmart1076 on Aug 6, 2014 18:36:25 GMT -5
So I found some granular honey in an asian market. I tried my first batch with it and it turned out odd. I'm debating whether it was a tempering issue or the honey itself.
Without any manipulation, the honey has a texture kind of like an after-dinner mint... that soft but still crunchy texture. It is a little crunchier than that.
I typically use Sugar in the Raw and add it unmodified directly to the melanger, and I've had very little problem with it grinding down properly. When I added the honey, it was much more of an effort to get beyond the solid stage. I had to add pads under the feet of the melanger to stop it from moving all over the place (and nearly off the counter for that matter!). At one point, probably 30-40 minutes into the refining, the noise from the machine stopped. I went in to make sure it hadn't fallen off the counter. What I think happened was the mass in the machine hit a certain temperature and the honey crystals melted.
When the batch was about ready I tasted it and it tastes great. The liquid chocolate was smooth as silk and I couldn't feel any hint of the crystals.
Then I tempered and molded the chocolate and stuck one of my trays in the fridge so I could test it out before bed-time. I took a bite and it has the oddest texture! It is as-if the chocolate formed little balls that all coalesced together, but when they melt you can distinctly feel them. It isn't the honey itself, and there is no grainy feel to it. Its like the chocolate took on the crystaline shape of the honey, but it didn't get grainy. I don't think I tempered to the right temperature, so I'm going to melt it down and try again. Hopefully it works.
Flavor-wise, I can't really tell a difference between the honey and the sugar-in-the-raw, so I don't know if it is worth the specialized needs of using honey... I'm going to make another fresh batch with the sugar and compare the taste side-by-side. If the texture of the chocolate is due to the honey and not the tempering, then I'm just not going to attempt the honey any more.
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Post by Sebastian on Aug 8, 2014 5:46:55 GMT -5
remember bees don't produce granular honey, so what you've got is most likely a base of maltodextrin with honey 'plated' on the surface of it. it's likely only 35% honey or so.
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Post by chadmart1076 on Aug 11, 2014 21:18:28 GMT -5
Well according to the label it has 2 ingredients, honey and cane syrup. In the end I think it was just the quickly cooled samples that had texture issues. Other samples I've tried in the days since seem to be properly tempered and have the usual texture.
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Post by Sebastian on Aug 15, 2014 11:24:16 GMT -5
Frankly i don't believe the label if that's what they're telling you
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Post by fezzik on Feb 6, 2015 15:48:15 GMT -5
I am planning on trying this. I have seen where some are using it so it should be doable. I may try to let the honey refine for a while first since that would allow for the remaining moisture to evaporate off. Then introduce the chocolate slowly. I might add a little more lecithin. My thinking is that because honey is low moisture and is hydroscopic it may hold on to the moisture making little effect to the chocolate. It may completely be impossible or at least too difficult to do at home but it should be worth the experimentation.
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