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Post by doclogic77 on May 15, 2010 17:35:33 GMT -5
I am considering adding some vanilla bean to my dark chocolate. How do you add? Do you add a whole pod to your melanger? Do you roast the pod? I'm not sure how to use them.
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Post by cheebs on May 15, 2010 20:19:37 GMT -5
When I regularly used the Santha I would usually add two beans, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces, right at the time the nibs were added. Some people like to soak the beans in cocoa butter for a day or two and use the infused cocoa butter to impart the flavor (I do that for white chocolate only).
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Post by doclogic77 on May 18, 2010 11:50:48 GMT -5
Any other thoughts?
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Post by Brad on May 18, 2010 12:11:49 GMT -5
All of my ingredients are portioned by weight. I've found that for the most part, in the right portions, Vanilla "rounds out" the flavour of the chocolate, giving it a depth that chocolate without vanilla doesn't have. However, used too much, and it comes through very prominently.
Try 4 tenth's of one percent by weight. (4 grams for every kilogram of chocolate)
I chop the whole bean into tiny little pieces, and then throw it all into the refiner with the nibs.
It all gets ground down.
With white chocolate, I do the same thing. When the chocolate is complete, the customer can see teeny tiny little pieces of Vanilla, and are quite enamoured by it, knowing that it's real vanilla, and not an extract.
Cheers. Brad.
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Post by doclogic77 on May 19, 2010 9:54:35 GMT -5
Very cool Brad...thanks alot!
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Post by run222 on Aug 30, 2010 10:09:19 GMT -5
I've seen vanilla powder sold in stores. Would adding it or vanilla extract intead of the bean give the same effect? At at least Whole Foods, both the vanilla powder and extract are significantly cheaper than the bean. Thanks, Adam
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Post by deborah on Aug 30, 2010 10:35:21 GMT -5
You can use vanilla powder, though you have to be careful about the amount. Vanilla extract is alchohol based and should not be used, as you run the risk of seizing the chocolate.
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Post by oaxacalote on Sept 7, 2010 15:08:47 GMT -5
Moisture content varies greatly in vanilla beans. When purchasing beans and/or powder by weight, this may be a big component of overall cost. Beans are graded by length, color, texture and the intactness of the pod. Probably the lowest (shortest) grade is used to make ground vanilla. The shorter beans may contain lower content of vanillin and other flavor/aroma compounds by weight.
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