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Post by Brad on Oct 14, 2006 1:23:51 GMT -5
I just tried a truffle recipe that called for fresh mint leaves steeped in the cream, and made a crucial error: I never gave thought to the type of mint when I added it. In this case I used spearmint leaves, and OMG!! Did it turn out HORRIBLE! Not only was it incredibly strong, but terribly bitter as well. I was able to partially salvage the trufflecream by adding a very substantial amount of powdered sugar and whipping the heck out of it with an electric blender, but in my humble opinion, spearmint and chocolate simply do not mix.
I'm definitely going to try peppermint oil next time. This was definitely the worst of all my experiments to date!
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Post by vivachoco on Oct 21, 2006 0:08:44 GMT -5
brad - i agree, seems like chocolate and spearmint do not mix. you know until i read your post i had not even paid much attention to the whole spearmint / peppermint difference. i always thought they are more or less the same. except maybe when it came to gum or toothpaste flavors :0
so now that i am paying attention - seems like spearmint is all i see. my oil experiment was also with spearmint. the new food grade mint oil that i had just bought: spearmint. fresh herbs at grocery store? spearmint. it's the spearmint invasion. is there really peppermint available?
on another note - what kind of truffle recipe do you use to be able to mix it with electric blender? in my experience you cannot over mix ganache mixture at all or it will curdle. i have been making truffles from chocolate that is 75% cocoa.
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Post by vivachoco on Oct 21, 2006 0:15:46 GMT -5
sebastian - i may stay away from mints a bit - unless someone finds an exact brand and a great exact recipe - enough of ruining a good batch of chocolates -- i did a batch of truffles where i infused fresh spearmint (see brad post) to cream - it sucked. then, i did a small batch where i infused fresh spearmint (seems that is the only kind of mint i can find) with cocoa butter. the mint flavor just is not strong enough and also, it makes the chocolate bitter. makes me think that the commercial chocolate manufacturers just use a huge amount of some artificial flavoring to make it work. yack. your specialty chocolate sounds REALLY good. could you give an exact recipe? i would love to try it.
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Post by Sebastian on Nov 2, 2006 19:45:07 GMT -5
Vivachoco - i do most of the cooking at home, and my wife complains that i can't give her recipes...i tend to make it up on the spot, and that usually means i don't ever do it the same way twice...sort of the same with the mint nib bars..i always use an essential mint oil (very, very, VERY concentrated natural extract) simply because it's a very easy way to get the mint flavor i like w/o having to steep the leaves and concentrate it myself (if i had more time, i'd do it this way... but i usually don't have the problem of having too much time...). I then temper the minty chocolate base (usually an african / sulawesi blend - i stay away from the fruitier liquors because fruit and mint...well, 'nuff said!), and into it mix in ~8-9% (w/w) of small roasted nibs, then mould into thin bars. Really very easy and straightforward...but chances are pretty good that the next time i do it will be slightly different than the last time i did it! Now, the last batch of truffles i made with my daughter was very recent, and i do remember that recipe. I also make wine, and the last batch that i bottled was a lodi old vine red zin, so naturally we made red zinfandel truffles. This is what they consisted of: 1 lb 58% semisweet 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/4 stick amf 1/2 cup red zin pinch black sea sea-salt (the amf is unsalted) ~1 fl oz concentrated port (grahams '97 lbv) half of them i enrobed in a thin shell of the same 58% the base was made of, the other half were dry dusted with a 22/24% medium alkalized cocoa powder. all of them have since been consumed it was so good that we may try either a port wine or red zin caramel base this weekend...
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Post by mistacandy on Apr 30, 2008 15:45:45 GMT -5
You can make chocolate as dark as you want, really, it depends on your taste, but if your a beginner a good 50-60% is a good place to start.
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