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Post by deborah on Sept 5, 2014 11:25:39 GMT -5
I am in Panama where I make chocolate from cacao I purchase from a co-op. For the most part, I try to obtain beans from a particular region I have identified as having a taste I like, and the beans have not differed greatly from farm to farm in that region. Yesterday, I received a new batch of cacao from a different farm in the same region and roasted some of the beans. Today, when I cracked and winnowed them, I noticed a number of the nibs (perhaps 3 or 4%) had a very golden hue, something I had not seen in 5 years of using Central American cacao (see attached picture of two nibs from the same batch). What, if anything, is the significance of the golden color? Attachments:
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Post by kevin on Sept 5, 2014 12:26:30 GMT -5
My goes is that these 10% were either poorly fermented / under-fermented or they may be pale / whitish seeds.
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Post by Sebastian on Sept 7, 2014 6:29:00 GMT -5
My vote goes to a 3 day fermentation, one turn, and nice and slowly sun dried in a thin (< 4") layer of beans with lots of bottom ventilation. The golden color is the result of pulp sugars not being 100% consumed during fermentation, and the slow drying process ( 5 ish days) allows for some enzymatic browning on the skin.
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Post by deborah on Sept 10, 2014 17:36:50 GMT -5
Thanks, Sebastian...I was hoping you would respond.
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Post by Sebastian on Sept 11, 2014 20:35:51 GMT -5
you're welcome - what do i win? a fantastic getaway? the brand new car?? the excitement is killing me!!
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Post by deborah on Sept 12, 2014 22:28:29 GMT -5
I'm guessing that my undying gratitude won't do it. Let me give it some more thought, then.
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Post by Sebastian on Sept 13, 2014 8:05:50 GMT -5
;-)
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Post by finnscacao on May 16, 2015 5:14:08 GMT -5
I have had this before with Ecuadorian Nacional. The woman whose shop we visited in Ecuador that we bought some from said that some of them would be likely to have a very light center. When I made some chocolate with them the bars still tasted pretty my my good.
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