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Post by glsmyth on Feb 28, 2020 16:10:41 GMT -5
I have been making chocolate with coconut oil. These are the ingredients I am using:
½ cup coconut oil
½ cup unsweetened cocoa
3 tablespoons honey
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
I like the taste but unless I store the chocolates in the refrigerator they end up somewhat oily and melt in the hands.
I have read that coconut butter can also be used and I am wondering if switching might make a difference. I am an absolute novice at this, so I am very much in the learning stage.
Thanks -
george
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Post by Chip on Feb 28, 2020 17:36:38 GMT -5
Hi glsmyth, and welcome to chocolatiering! Dark chocolate is basically three ingredients: cocoa butter, cocoa nibs (or cocoa liquor) and sugar. Milk chocolate adds a fourth ingredient: milk powder (there are various kinds out there.) There should never be any water involved in making chocolate. Therefore the honey and vanilla extract in your ingredients are a problem. This will cause "seizing" of the chocolate and most times turn it lumpy and basically ugly and inedible. It looks really yucky. Why have you chosen coconut oil instead of cocoa butter? The unsweetened cocoa you are using, is it the dry powder or the "stick" or "block" kind? There are various formulas for making the different kinds of chocolate, all based on a 100% scale. For instance, if you wanted to make a 70% dark chocolate you could do it two ways: 70% cocoa nibs or cocoa liquor 30% sugar To increase the fat content and mouth feel of the chocolate you could use this formula: 60% nibs 10%cocoa butter 30% sugar It is easiest if you just measure in grams, so a small batch would look like: 60g cocoa nibs (or liquor) 10g cocoa butter 30g sugar Vanilla powder or a scraped vanilla bean doesn't really impact the formula. Good luck!
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Post by glsmyth on Feb 29, 2020 7:13:46 GMT -5
Thanks for the information. I just found the recipe online and thought I would give it a try. I liked what I made, but it does need to be stored in the fridge. I see that I can get cocoa nibs and butter on Amazon so I'll give that a try.
Cheers -
george
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Jim B.
Novice
Newbie
Posts: 118
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Post by Jim B. on Feb 29, 2020 7:28:17 GMT -5
George, Be careful about buying nibs and cocoa butter on amazon. You want food grade cocoa butter, not the kind used for making hand cream! Also the nibs should be roasted, otherwise there might be bacteria issues as well as off-flavor. For getting started you might try Chocolate Alchemy or another craft chocolate supplier.
By the way, are you using a grinder (melanger)? You won't be able to use nibs otherwise.
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Post by Chip on Feb 29, 2020 9:31:03 GMT -5
glsmyth, What jim B. said! Be very careful where you source your ingredients from. And if you don't have a melange, then you can't use nibs as he said. It would b better for you to go with cocoa liquor. The other problem you may have is that without a melange you cannot properly "meld" the chocolate. Sugar needs to be ground at least 12 hours before it becomes married with the cocoa and the crystals become small enough not to be "crunchy." Not to sound like a snob, but to really make chocolate is a true process of sourcing, combining, figuring, grinding, tempering and molding.
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Post by glsmyth on Feb 29, 2020 11:09:29 GMT -5
Yes, I do know to get the right cocoa butter, but it was good to make sure I knew.
I do not have a melanger and it appears that they are a bit on the expensive side, so that is probably out, at least for now.
I have worked in the darkroom for over 25 years (still do) so I am not unaccustomed to things actually being more difficult and time consuming than originally thought (as was certainly the case with making Bromoil prints). I have a feeling that I will need to get more resources to get a more complete picture of how to do this properly.
Cheers -
george
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Post by Chip on Mar 2, 2020 10:14:42 GMT -5
glsmyth, You can get a fairly inexpensive melange on Amazon. Just know that it will not last all that long. A good Premier tilt will cost $300. But be forewarned: once you start the experimentation of making chocolate, you'll be hooked and so will your family and friends11
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Post by Ben on Mar 2, 2020 14:40:06 GMT -5
I have 3 of the little blue premier grinders that I bought on Amazon. They've lasted me for years and years. I think I bought the last one 4 or 5 years ago. The red ones have some improvements that are worthwhile, so when these finally die, I'll replace them with those. Coconut oil is soft at room temperature, so any 'chocolate' made with it will also be soft. I put chocolate in quotes, because chocolate made with coconut oil is not technically chocolate. You'll need to use cocoa butter if you want to be able to temper it. And agreed with everything else Chip and Jim mention above.
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Post by Chip on Mar 3, 2020 10:57:18 GMT -5
Ben, Maybe I should have gotten the little blue ones! LOL. I have become an expert Premier melange mechanic over the past few years. Everything from bearings to gears to knobs......to infinity and beyond!
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