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Post by gameson on Dec 3, 2012 17:17:39 GMT -5
If I can find cocoa paste/liquor so I don't have to start from bean, do I still need to conch it to make a 75% dark chocolate?
Thanks.
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Post by Sebastian on Dec 3, 2012 18:15:43 GMT -5
Do you need to? No. Are there reasons to do so? Yes. Conching also helps with emulsification and further flavor development and moisture reduction and viscosity. It's technically not required, but there are many reasons to do so, if those things are important to you.
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Post by gameson on Dec 4, 2012 4:00:45 GMT -5
Thank you for your response. I guess conching is also for mixing other flavors? Since cocoa paste is 100% cocoa, so if I want to add cocoa butter, sugar or other herbs and spices, I should conch it? Or should I mix it with a food processor?
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Post by Sebastian on Dec 4, 2012 5:13:08 GMT -5
The stone mill john uses here for conching also double as a grinder. If you're adding herbs and spices, you'll probably want them ground up as well, so yes, i'd add them to the conche/grinder.
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Post by gameson on Dec 4, 2012 13:45:19 GMT -5
just to understand a bit more about cocoa paste/liquor term, paste/liquor comes from grinding the bean, correct? If that's so, then the cocoa paste is not smooth, right?
I saw some videos that herb/spices/sugar/vanilla is added when the bean is being grinded before it turns to liquor.
If I am not mistaken, conching means take an almost finish product of chocolate (that already included the herb etc) and make it smoother, refine it, etc. is that correct? If so, when I buy a liquor and add the herb etc in the liquor stage, would it be affecting the final product of the chocolate in term of taste? Or would that be OK?
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