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Post by Alan on Mar 25, 2006 18:06:30 GMT -5
Hello all,
Are any of you making any chocolate this weekend?
If so, what kind? Tell me a little about it. I'm interested to know.
Alan
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Post by Alan on Mar 27, 2006 8:55:09 GMT -5
Well, It's been a ghost town in here the past couple of days.
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Post by chocdoc on Mar 27, 2006 20:55:42 GMT -5
I made my first very tiny batch of chocolate late last week, haven't conched it yet. I don't have all the appropriate equipment, so I've been improvising. I started with some el ray nibs I had lying around, roasted them in my coffee roaster, ground them in my spice grinder, added sugar, cocoa butter, a touch of lecithan and natural vanilla crystals. Tastes fabulous, I can't wait the see the results with conching. Just need time to get the wet grinder out of the box and figure out if it is going to work for me.
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Post by Alan on Mar 27, 2006 21:01:26 GMT -5
I made my first very tiny batch of chocolate late last week, haven't conched it yet. I don't have all the appropriate equipment, so I've been improvising. I started with some el ray nibs I had lying around, roasted them in my coffee roaster, ground them in my spice grinder, added sugar, cocoa butter, a touch of lecithan and natural vanilla crystals. Tastes fabulous, I can't wait the see the results with conching. Just need time to get the wet grinder out of the box and figure out if it is going to work for me. Sounds good! Let us know how things turn out. What percentages did you use? Alan
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Post by chocdoc on Mar 27, 2006 22:40:57 GMT -5
Alan,
Really, really small batch. 100 g nibs, 30 g sugar, 1 gram lecithin, 30 g cocoa butter, pinch vanilla crystal
Kerry
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Post by Alchemist on Mar 28, 2006 15:21:03 GMT -5
Unless I am mistaken, I think elray nibs are already roasted.
Good job none the less.
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Post by chocdoc on Mar 28, 2006 19:08:06 GMT -5
John, I think you are right about the el ray nibs being roasted, but they sure didn't have a very chocolaty smell or taste before I roasted them. The last time I caramelized them as is they tasted a little like gasoline. But after roasting they developed a lovely smell and flavour.
Kerry
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Post by Alan on Mar 28, 2006 20:17:21 GMT -5
Alan, Really, really small batch. 100 g nibs, 30 g sugar, 1 gram lecithin, 30 g cocoa butter, pinch vanilla crystal Kerry Now the important part...how does it taste? Alan
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Post by chocdoc on Mar 29, 2006 8:33:38 GMT -5
Ah, how does it taste?
I'll try to do the tasting note thing on it.
It has a rather overripe fruit flavour, a little bit like acetone. There is still a hint of gasoline in there after the roasting. Not a great finish, doesn't leave a lovely lingering aftertaste. Since it is not conched yet there is the distraction of the sugar crystals. Nice hint of vanilla.
There is also a hint of cloves, however I was at the dentist yesterday and he put in what is called a 'sedative' filling to a cracked molar. A 'sedative' filling starts with a drop of oil of clove, so I think everything I eat for the next 4 to 6 weeks is going to have that hint of cloves.
Kerrt
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Post by Alan on Mar 29, 2006 8:39:03 GMT -5
Ah, how does it taste? I'll try to do the tasting note thing on it. It has a rather overripe fruit flavour, a little bit like acetone. There is still a hint of gasoline in there after the roasting. Not a great finish, doesn't leave a lovely lingering aftertaste. Since it is not conched yet there is the distraction of the sugar crystals. Nice hint of vanilla. There is also a hint of cloves, however I was at the dentist yesterday and he put in what is called a 'sedative' filling to a cracked molar. A 'sedative' filling starts with a drop of oil of clove, so I think everything I eat for the next 4 to 6 weeks is going to have that hint of cloves. Kerrt That's the best! Well, I'll be interested to know what it tastes like when you are done conching it. Alan
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Post by chocdoc on Apr 1, 2006 22:57:46 GMT -5
Well I finally completed my first batch. I used el ray nibs, roasted to about 300 degrees F in my coffee roaster. I ground the sugar in my spice grinder, which reduced it to icing sugar consistancy in about 2 minutes. I ground the nibs in the same grinder, taking about 3 or 4 minutes per batch. Small batches seem to work best. I added a bit of lecithan, and some vanilla crystals. I conched for about 11 hours until I was satisfied with the partical size. It wasn't as smooth as the chocolate I buy from my supplier, but it was a heck of a lot smoother than the last artisanal chocolate that I tried. The recipe was the same proportions as my tiny batch.
I tempered it right away, didn't bother to heat it any further than the temperature it came out of the conch. Cooled it to 27 C, heated back up to 30 C. Molded some 5 gram tasting bars and some larger bars.
I'm trying to post some picture, but I'm technically challanged. Can someone give me the details to getting those pictures up?
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Post by Alan on Apr 2, 2006 14:04:32 GMT -5
I'm trying to post some picture, but I'm technically challanged. Can someone give me the details to getting those pictures up? Basically, what you want to do is to make sure you have your photos uploaded to your website, or a server that stores photos or other media. Then click the button above that looks like a photo (bottom row, fourth from the left). Finally, paste the url that goes to your photo in between the two tags. That's all it takes. Alan
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Post by chocdoc on Apr 2, 2006 18:02:08 GMT -5
Alan, I'm trying to upload from imageGullet the only server with photo capability that I have access to, but it's not working. I guess we'll just have to do without photos unless there is some way I can get them in via e-mail. Kerry
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Post by chocdoc on Apr 2, 2006 18:08:18 GMT -5
So these are the 5 gram tasting bars and two larger bars that I molded with the chocolate I made. Once conched the product was fruity but still lacks any sort of nice finish. I need to get a bunch of different types of nibs to try so that I can create some blends that combine the best of each bean.
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Post by chocdoc on Apr 2, 2006 18:13:33 GMT -5
Alan, I don't know if you are seeing these pictures, sometimes they seem to show up, other times not. I have had to link to imageGullet as that is the only server that I seem to have access to that will deal with pictures. Kerry
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