fred
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Post by fred on Nov 17, 2019 13:25:19 GMT -5
To start - I got into making bean to bar chocolate because I love milk chocolate and most milk chocolate is way too sweet for me. So it's funny because I appreciate the purity of dark chocolate (you can make it from just chocolate and sugar if you like it really dark chocolate), but I really do prefer the having some milk in there. I like white wine but not red wine, so maybe I'm just averse to strong tannin flavors, anyhoo...
I've been making the milk chocolate recipe John (the Alchemist) recommends - probably because it is really simple and a good place to start: 1 : 1 : 1 : 1 ratio of cocoa nibs, cocoa butter, sugar and milk powder optionally with vanilla bean innards.
I was kind of afraid to deviate from this recipe for a while and it makes a pretty darn nice milk chocolate.
What bothered me though is that I wanted more than 25% nibs and less cocoa butter. But I still want a decent amount of milk and sugar. So I tried the following pretty dark milk chocolate recipe using Peru Ucayali roasted nibs from Chocolate Alchemy and I'm really happy with the results:
50% roasted nibs 10% cocoa butter 20% whole milk powder 20% sugar
So that's twice as much nibs as I was getting into the original recipe and a lot less cocoa butter. The result is a dark chocolate with a slightly milky finish which I really like. Goes great with a cappuccino!
I'm trying again and adding some vanilla bean in there at the end to see if that adds or detracts.
Would love to hear what other people recommend for milk chocolate both in terms of the beans/nibs they use and the recipe formulation.
Last year a made a lot of chocolate for x-mas that I just brought with me - some dark, milk and white chocolate. This year I kind of want to simplify things so I think I will just make this dark milk chocolate which I think will please the dark chocolate lovers to some extent. I know very few people who like white chocolate and I'm not too happy with the way my white chocolate turns out so I'm going to leave that one alone for now...
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Post by Chip on Dec 5, 2019 19:26:42 GMT -5
Fred, That sounds yummy, and I'm gonna' try it. I don't care too much for the 1:1 milk but my wife loves it! LOL. I particularly never cared for milk chocolate, but this proposal has me interested.
As for my white, my formula: 350g cocoa butter 350g sugar 275g whole milk powder 25g whole cream powder 1tbsp vanilla bean powder
It tastes good and is great for making peppermint bark or using as a base for coloring. Of course the standard 42.5% fat formula that John posted a while ago is good too, just not as creamy: 350g cocoa butter 350g sugar 300g whole milk powder
Blessings!
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fred
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Post by fred on Dec 7, 2019 19:33:03 GMT -5
Chip - wow, the added whole cream powder sounds really good. I might have to try vanilla bean powder - I've been scraping vanilla beans into the melanger but the flavor is very subtle. The 50% cacao milk chocolate is pretty strong on the cacao side. I've actually thought about toning it down a bit or may trying this: 40% cacao 15% cocoa butter 20% sugar 20% milk 5% whole cream powder? (I like this idea) vanilla bean powder (like this idea too!)
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Post by Chip on Dec 7, 2019 19:35:56 GMT -5
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fred
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Post by fred on Dec 8, 2019 11:44:46 GMT -5
Chip - thank you for that tip! How do you think Vanilla bean powder compares to scraping vanilla beans? Do you get a stronger vanilla flavor?
Also I'm torn - I think I still like the 50% cacao dark milk chocolate. Using less cocoa butter has always seemed like a good idea to me so I may stick with this recipe. I'm pretty conservative when it comes to trying new things LOL!
EDIT: the powder I think is cheaper than buying the beans! =)
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fred
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Post by fred on Dec 8, 2019 11:51:49 GMT -5
Chip - sorry, one more question. For your white chocolate, what cocoa butter do you use? I have used the "Cocoa Butter - Org/FT - Natural" from chocolatealchemy.com and for some reason my white chocolate was not very white. The alchemist also sells the "Cocoa Butter - Deodorized Org/FT" but I haven't tried that.
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Post by Chip on Dec 8, 2019 15:41:21 GMT -5
fred , I source my cocoa butter from a couple of places recently. I usually buy from whomever has the best price. I get it from Jedwards in Mass. or CocoaSupply. I like John's as well but him being on the west coast and me being all the way on the east coast, well, shipping can be a big difference for me. I always buy the organic pressed natural cocoa butter, never the deodorized. I feel the less processing the better. I also alway buy the 25kg block then chop it and put it in my food processor to make it manageable. Cocoa butter will not be white. There will always be a little carryover from the actual cocoa bean. Sometimes cocoa butter will actually be a light brown. As you add your milk/cream/sugar it should lighten up a little, but whiteness is going to be white like the store bought crap.....oh, I mean , store bought stuff. LOL. And, if you are using an organic rough sugar that will add a little brown/yellow to the mixture as will any vanilla you put in. As far as vanilla, scraping the bean is the best flavor in my humble opinion. However, this powder I have been getting has been truly outstanding in flavor and aroma. I cannot tell the difference when I tried both. It takes a while for the powder to "blend in" but since you need at least 18 hours or so for the sugar to be truly reduced, by then it is pretty well invisible. When you first put it in however it will look like you have poured black pepper in. I kinda' freaked out the first time I put some in my white chocolate. Also, lately I have been making white chocolate peppermint bark, and for a change I have been adding 1/2 a dropper full of pure peppermint oil to the chocolate before adding in the chopped peppermint. It has made a tremendous difference and the folk that are trying it love it! We sold out at church today and I made 7 pounds! LOL.
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fred
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Post by fred on Dec 8, 2019 17:34:29 GMT -5
Chip, wow! Some great info in there! I definitely want to try that white chocolate recipe. Do you know if there are other good sources of nibs on or near the east coast? I really like ordering from John but he is quite a ways away. There are a few "single source" chocolate makers in the area but I'm doubtful that they would sell nibs - still I might ask them just to see Also, what source do you use for powdered whole milk and cream? I've had no complaint with John's whole milk powder, but again it is a long way from here to there. Last time I made white chocolate I used John's 33% of each recipe (milk, butter, sugar) for a 1kg batch and added at least 3 (maybe 4) scraped vanilla bean pods to the recipe. I still didn't notice a very pronounced vanilla flavor but maybe that's normal. It's not like I had a direct comparison. I think making mint bark is the kicker. White chocolate to me tastes like solid frosting LOL, but adding mint oil and maybe a thin layer of really dark chocolate on top before crushed candy canes would be really good IMO =D I tend to run the melanger for a maximum of about 14 hours when I make milk chocolate (24hrs for dark chocolate) but maybe I should run it a bit longer. My worry is that the milk will start to taste like caramel which I really don't like (some commercial milk chocolate has a very distinct caramel like quality to it). Not sure if you have any thoughts on that. I should try a longer run and see what happens. I was really worried about what might happen to white chocolate, but maybe 18 hours is well before any caramel notes come in (or maybe that caramel notes never come in? I'm not sure where I got that idea...). Oh, any thoughts on powdered goat milk? I tried it once a long time ago in milk chocolate, but it was very early on and I can't remember any distinct conclusions... Cream powder still seams like a wonderful idea. Thank you for sharing this great knowledge!
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Post by Chip on Dec 8, 2019 18:19:01 GMT -5
fred I just got 25kg of cocoa liquor from Cocoa Supply and it is really, really, really nice. It is organic and produces a rich, dark chocolate without any bitterness. It comes in discs, although there are some decent chunks in there, I think due to the heat. This is what I got: www.cocoasupply.com/cocoasupply-natural-cacao-liquor-cacao-mass/. It is 159.99, and it was 172.63 shipped, which works out to $3.14 a pound. Right now it's out of stock in the larger amounts but I think they have the smaller bags. The nibs are 103.50 for 33 pounds. It is a good tasing chocolate, and you could get the small size to test it out. I have run my white/milk chocolate for up to 24 hours with no caramel taste. You are using a Premier melange? I personally don't think they put enough pressure on the stones to caramelize the sugar and/or milk. I source my whole milk and whole cream powder from Hoosier Hill. I use Amazon for that, or sometimes the Hoosier site directly, depending on who has the better price at the time. I just do a Google search and compare prices with shipping and go with the cheapest. I am very pleased with their consistency and quality. I have never tried goat milk so I can't speak to that. Hope this helps!
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fred
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Post by fred on Dec 8, 2019 19:44:25 GMT -5
Chip - thank you! This is great info! I've definitely made the mistake of running my milk chocolate for too short a time and the chocolate had a "milk powder" feel to it... =\ I'll definitely have to consider more local options for cocoa butter and milk/cream powder - this helps a lot, thanks! I really like the whole single origin and fair trade approach John supports and I eventually want to try some of those more exotic beans (like the Vietnamese ones), but definitely having a more affordable alternative would be great (especially for bigger gift batches and for people who like traditional flavor profiles).
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Post by Chip on Dec 8, 2019 19:58:50 GMT -5
fred, I would love to support John more, but being an Episcopal Priest and funding all of my chocolate myself I have to shop for price. I make all the chocolate then donate it to the church. The church sells it and all the proceeds are donated to fund our Food Pantry. We opened our pantry last January and we are only open 2.5 hours a week on Wednesday's from 3:30 to 6, and we serve over 130 people and give out more than 3000 lbs. of food a week. We are a member of FoodShare so most of the food is from .03 to .17 cents per pound, but some is more price when it gets into the meats, etc. So I buy all my supplies and the church sells and keeps all the money to buy food. That' why I have to be a little more frugal when it comes to supplies. I bargain hunt as much as possible. It's not a business with me as much as it is a ministry. I have purchased quite often from John and still do when I can. I have gotten some really good beans which I roast and go bean to bar. I also only buy allulose through him (well, I've only purchased that once, but still, I wouldn't go anywhere else.).
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fred
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Post by fred on Dec 8, 2019 21:03:29 GMT -5
Chip - that is pretty remarkable and and honestly quite admirable! The chocolate you sell must be light years better than almost any commercial chocolate that isn't ultra expensive (like those $8 single origin 2oz bars I've been seeing lately). That is also really cool that you can start from raw beans - I'm not sure I'll get there... I've definitely accepted that this is my hobby. I would not want to try and sell anything I've made so far LOL! But I am saving some money I would be spending on my own chocolate consumption and I've given chocolate away to a lot of people (which some people like, but not everyone...).
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Jim B.
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Post by Jim B. on Dec 12, 2019 18:41:21 GMT -5
Hey Chip, Nice about funding the food pantry! There is a source for bulk allulose - 20 lbs for $140.00 at Keystone Pantry. It's connected with Lang's Chocolates in Williamsport, PA. (Same price through Amazon, by the way.) I'll be giving it a try next time I order. Being diabetic, I'm making my own sucrose-free chocolate with allulose. I've also been able to get close to the same sweetness by adding 1/2 tsp of Monk Fruit Extract (25% mogroside) to 16 oz of allulose. (I mix it into the melted cocoa butter for better dispersion). I am also mixing the milk powder with the allulose prior to feeding it into the melanger. It helps to keep the milk from "puffing" and zeems to give a smoother finish to the grinding.
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Jim B.
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Post by Jim B. on Dec 12, 2019 18:51:27 GMT -5
Fred and Chip, Let me know how it works out with the Heavy Cream powder! With the much higher fat content, a little may go a long way....
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fred
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Post by fred on Dec 12, 2019 20:53:59 GMT -5
Jim B., yeah, I'm pretty excited about trying the heavy cream powder - maybe just adding some in with whole milk powder powder. Chip , I really appreciate those suggestions and I'm looking forward to ordering more ingredients in 2020! My batches will stay small (like 1-2kg) until I have a better idea of what I'm doing - I still struggle with a few basic thing (definitely tempering with the last batch - my "go to" trick failed me). BTW, I noticed that Hershey's Special Dark has milk fat and milk powder in the ingredients which is kind of interesting...
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