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Post by sugaralchemy on Jun 23, 2006 12:28:23 GMT -5
Some people think about chocolate as being about the bean and the pure chocolate. Other people think about chocolate as a finished gourmet product... the whole experience counts. These are two distinct and delightful directions in which you can go. I very much appreciate both of them, but coming from a strictly "gourmet" direction I personally lean towards the "whole experience" approach because it is more complex. But then again, pure cacao is a wonderful variation and if it is done superbly can be an excellent experience. It's kind of like strawberry ice cream versus strawberry sorbet.
Now, I would strongly suggest you do the whole vanilla bean. If not, you are going to miss out on the full flavor and aroma of the bean. The scrapings are very good, but they don't necessarily capture all the flavor both in terms of complexity and in terms of amount. The advantage is that when making chocolate, there's absolutely no reason not to because the refining process will grind it all down perfectly - provided you feed fairly well chopped beans into the Santha, or pass the beans through a grinder (food processor/champion/blender) prior to entering the Santha.
What is this "vanilla powder" you are using? I am always wary of products like that because they are usually mixed origin and/or low quality vanilla beans, that is if "vanilla powder" is even 100% vanilla beans. And vanilla powder is normally just whole beans ground up - why not just grind up the whole bean yourself so you get a fresher product and more control? After all, that's why most of the people on this board are making their own liquor... I don't see how vanilla is any different.
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Post by vivachoco on Jun 26, 2006 16:57:28 GMT -5
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Post by sugaralchemy on Jun 26, 2006 17:44:55 GMT -5
If it's 100% erythritol (both of those links appear to be that) it doesn't matter from a sensory and functional standpoint. Most erythritol available in the US is produced by Cargill via a fungus fermentation of corn. Certified organic erythritol is made the same way by Cargill, but using organic sugar cane as the base material because it is organic and guaranteed non-GMO. The powdered erythritol would save you a little bit of time, in that it is already finer than you could possibly get in your food processor or blender. It is just like powdered sugar, except without the cornstarch. If you are looking for a little better price on a moderate quantity, check out this company's erythritol: store.honeyvillegrain.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=652
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Post by vivachoco on Jul 20, 2006 14:23:22 GMT -5
my first dark erythritol sweetened chocolate batch is ready. erythritol works 'pretty well.' and yes, there is a slight hardly noticeable yet annoying [to me] cool-effect on the tongue. it makes me think that for a pure dark chocolate / dark bittersweet i would really stick with regular sugar - and just eat very little at a time - but i think erythritol could be perfect for a flavored chocolate? especially with mint it probably would be fantastic (even supporting the flavor). does anyone have any ideas on how to flavor dark chocolate with mint? i imagine that if i melt the dark erythritol chocolate that i have now created and mix in some peppermint oil - it will just freeze like with any water addition? thanks for all your thoughts and advice.
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Post by sugaralchemy on Jul 20, 2006 15:53:17 GMT -5
Just get some pure food grade peppermint essential oil and add it to your chocolate. You'll have no problems. Add like a drop (or less) to start and play around with the levels. Just avoid "peppermint extract" which is typically peppermint oil dissolved in an alcohol/water solution.
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Post by vivachoco on Jul 20, 2006 23:26:42 GMT -5
thanks for your reply. i will check out the local health food store for peppermint essential oil. Do you know if other essential oils are edible? or have you tried others in chocolate? i would love to try jasmine, mandarin, or chamomile. that DHMO website is quite entertaining and has been sent around for quite awhile. you are right, people can be 'coached' to react on information - depending on the way it has been presented. so i do try to keep an open and alert mind . in regards to sweeteners, i seem to be 'hyper-sensitive' to most of them in one way or the other or just don't like the taste. but each to their own, and by trying one can find their favorites. thanks again by the way for the erythritol info - while i am not giving it all thumbs up, it is still by far the best tasting/seeming sugar alternative i have encountered.
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Post by sugaralchemy on Jul 22, 2006 22:39:46 GMT -5
I suggest you try erythritol with a touch of another sweetener. See what you think at that point...
As for the essential oils... there are two key things. First, essential oils are intended to be used in SMALL quantities. They may be harmful in large quantities! (Don't worry, they won't taste good in those quantities anyhow!) Second, when you buy essential oils you really should buy "food grade" or similar products - who knows the technique used to extract the oils if they're NOT food grade!
And when you're shopping, be sure it is 100% pure essential oil of whatever you want... occasionally you will find essential oil diluted with another oil.
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Post by vivachoco on Jul 24, 2006 1:00:14 GMT -5
All i could find this weekend were 100% essential oils, and none of them had a mention of 'FOOD grade.' Quite the opposite: all labels said 'for external use only.' The peppermint oil i bought is Simplers organic 100% essential oil. i took a deep inhale (smelled so good and cleared a headache) - and added 6 drops to 1200 grams of cocoa liquor. do you think i or whoever eats it will live?
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Post by sugaralchemy on Jul 29, 2006 18:22:51 GMT -5
I have no idea... I am doubtful there is anything harmful in that oil, especially considering the tiny amount used, but unless it is for use in food, I really can't say.
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Post by chocdoc on Jul 29, 2006 20:19:05 GMT -5
All i could find this weekend were 100% essential oils, and none of them had a mention of 'FOOD grade.' Quite the opposite: all labels said 'for external use only.' The peppermint oil i bought is Simplers organic 100% essential oil. i took a deep inhale (smelled so good and cleared a headache) - and added 6 drops to 1200 grams of cocoa liquor. do you think i or whoever eats it will live? I use essential oils all the time in chocolate. The peppermint oils, orange oils, lemon oils etc from pharmacies are made to put in candy so are safe in food. A good source of essential oils is www.av-at.com . They can tell you how all their oils are extracted so you will know if any chemicals are involved. They can also tell you which are meant to be consumed. Another nice thing they do is send little sample vials with your order, so you can try oils before you buy. The black pepper oil is fabulous in white chocolate, along with a bit of oil of bergemot. Another source I buy essential oils from is Xenex laboratories in Canada. If you see their oils in a pharmacy, grab them. They are well priced and good quality. Kerry
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Post by vivachoco on Oct 12, 2006 13:39:28 GMT -5
a follow up on the peppermint essential oil test: i did not like the resulting chocolate. i could hardly taste the peppermint, yet there was an ominous 'darkness' at the back of my palate. maybe it was the combination with erythritol (turns out i don't like it very much as a sweetener), maybe it was me being paranoid. i will try with food grade peppermint oil next time - although i am thinking of testing with mixing it in with a tiny portion of tempered chocolate, then molding. i wonder if refining / conching made all the 'good flavor' evaporate?
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Post by Sebastian on Oct 12, 2006 17:41:32 GMT -5
Mint oils (especially essentials!) are EXTREMELY potent and difficult to completely volitalize. If you're after a good mint flavor, I'd suggest simply trying another flavor. There's no way you were able to sufficiently heat it in your system to drive off all the flavor...that said, i'd focus on adding it as late in the process as possible - outside of your santha if possible, unless you want everything you make in the santha to have a hint of mint to it for some time...
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Post by vivachoco on Oct 13, 2006 15:10:06 GMT -5
oi. there is that. did not EVEN think about everything having a hint of mint for some time... luckily i don't think that that happened, but a GREAT tip nonetheless. thanks for bringing it up.
have you / anybody made *amazing* mint chocolate? any success stories?
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Post by angioplasty on Oct 13, 2006 16:19:23 GMT -5
How about grinding up fresh mint leaves in the champion to extract whatever out of them? Or would the water content of that possibly cause a seizure in the santha?
Let me throw something else out there. Has anyone tried corn sugar instead of cane sugar? I have a bunch of it I use for brewing, I might experiment and see what happens.
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Post by Sebastian on Oct 13, 2006 19:26:27 GMT -5
There's a number of really great mint extracts out there ... it might be tougher for someone who's not in the industry to source them, but i'm sure if you go to some of the confectionery supply sites, you should be able to find something. Personally, every Christmas i'll make a specialty chocolate that's about 42% of a fairly mild liquor (such as sulawesi:african blend), add a touch of mint, and about 7% fine mesh nibs to it, and mould into bars... mmm... very good. Fresh mint leaves wouldn't work so well, but it might be an interesting exercise to mash up some mint leaves to rupture the cells and let the oil seep out, and then saturate a container of cocoa butter with them and keep in a warm (but not hot - just enough to keep the butter fluid) place for an extended time. This should (theoretically) have the effect of 'flavoring' the cocoa butter - then just use that ccb when you're making your chocolate. I think finding a good mint oil would be easier and more consistent tho AP - do you mean fructose or dextrose when you say corn sugar (i hope you aren't talking about corn syrup....). Fructose can work, but it's much more difficult than sucrose to do. A number of european mfrs use it for dietetic chocolate; to my knowledge no one in the states is doing it as it's a pain in the arse. If you mean dextrose, you'll need to use something to boost the sweetness. my personal opinion is that it's not very good.
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