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Post by graced on Mar 3, 2021 6:23:39 GMT -5
Hi there,
I have the idea to start a vegan chocolate business. However, I am completely new to chocolate making and I would be very grateful for your advice on the following:
a) Equipment: I am deciding whether to buy a Premier Chocolate Melanger or the Electra 11, and if I buy the Electra, do you I rather go for the version with speed control or is the normal one sufficient for the start? Additionally, do I need to get an equipment for tempering? b) Packaging: Is there a possibility to package your chocolate bars yourself for the start? c) Products: What would you recommend to buy as the starting product when I want to start the business? Meaning, would you recommend buying real beans and do the whole process, or buy cacao mass und butter, etc.?
Any other advice is highly appreciated!
Thanks, Grace
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Post by Ben on Mar 3, 2021 8:09:05 GMT -5
Hi Grace! a) Either the Premier or the Spectra 11 will serve you well. If you go with the Spectra, the speed controller is really nice to have. You can temper by hand using one of the various techniques, but a tempering machine is very helpful. There's a lot of discussion in the Finishing Techniques forum on the various techniques. b) I've been packaging my bars myself for 11 years, so it is definitely possible. c) This depends on what you want to do, how much control over the process you want, and the kind of chocolate you want to make. To answer the question, you'd need to experiment with the various options and decide what you want to do. Other advice: It's pretty easy to make decent chocolate, but it takes a lot of work, experimentation, trial & error, and fine-tuning of your process, recipes, etc. to make great chocolate. Be sure you know which is which before selling it.
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Post by graced on Mar 3, 2021 8:13:29 GMT -5
Hi Ben,
Thank you so much for your detailed reply.
May I ask how you are packing the bars? Are you using a machine?
Thanks, Grace
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Post by Ben on Mar 3, 2021 9:50:03 GMT -5
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Post by graced on Mar 3, 2021 10:24:00 GMT -5
Thanks this is really nice!! I have another stupid question probably: Am I right to think that if I decide to purchase cacao nibs, I only have to purchase the nibs; but when I decide to purchase cacao mass, I need to also buy cacao butter?
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Post by Chip on Mar 3, 2021 10:30:24 GMT -5
graced, You will need cocoa butter with nibs or cocoa mass, or even if you buy your own beans and roast them. You can make your own cocoa butter using an oil press that John sells here on his site as well. That produces small amounts so if you need large amounts you may need to purchase the cocoa butter from John (or elsewhere).
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Post by graced on Mar 3, 2021 10:35:10 GMT -5
Chip, Thanks so much, this is really helpful!
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Post by Chip on Mar 3, 2021 10:43:10 GMT -5
Cocoa butter is usually used to adjust the fat content of your chocolate. There are other oils and fats out there that you can use, but I have never done that so I wouldn't be a good source on what to use. Since it is vegan, butterfat is out. But there are many vegetable fats out there that *may* work, but their efficacy is unknown by this particular novice.
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Post by graced on Mar 3, 2021 11:05:40 GMT -5
I just looked through the various products on the side: I saw that you can purchase cacao nibs roasted or raw. Does it make a difference in quality/taste if you purchase raw cacao nibs and then roast it instead of first roasting the cacao beans and then into nibs? Thanks
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Post by Ben on Mar 3, 2021 12:05:52 GMT -5
It seemed like two separate conversations were happening in this thread, so I moved the packaging-related questions to their own thread.
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Post by Ben on Mar 3, 2021 12:08:59 GMT -5
Note that cacao mass (aka cacao liquor) is just ground nibs, so whether a particular chocolate needs additional cocoa butter applies to both the same. When using either, added cocoa butter is not required. Many makers, including myself, make 2-ingredient chocolate using just cacao and sugar. But, as Chip says, you can add cb to adjust mouthfeel and viscosity. Whether you want to add it to your chocolate is something you'd need to decide based on experimentation.
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Post by Ben on Mar 3, 2021 12:12:40 GMT -5
Chip mentioned using other oils instead of or in addition to cocoa butter. Note that those are not allowed under the FDA definition of chocolate (at least in my reading of it). You can use them, but you can't call the resulting product 'chocolate'. This is generally called 'compound chocolate', I believe.
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Post by graced on Mar 3, 2021 12:47:20 GMT -5
Ben, thanks so much for these insights! Really helpful and much appreciated!!
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Post by Thomas on Mar 3, 2021 16:50:59 GMT -5
Chip mentioned using other oils instead of or in addition to cocoa butter. Note that those are not allowed under the FDA definition of chocolate (at least in my reading of it). You can use them, but you can't call the resulting product 'chocolate'. This is generally called 'compound chocolate', I believe. Hi Ben, Are you sure? I've seen lots of things in chocolate bars and they have never been called compound chocolate on the labels. It's like chocolate with 'x', where x is orange, lemon, or anything else. The FDA definition of chocolate doesn't even mention compound chocolate. Chocolate can contain many flavoring and spices as long as they do not imitate the flavor of chocolate, milk, or butter. See item (b) (3) in FDA definition of chocolate. Perhaps this should be a separate thread but I don't interpret the definition that way. I'd like to clarify this if possible. - Thomas
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Post by Chip on Mar 3, 2021 17:07:07 GMT -5
Don't know if this helps, but Wikipedia says:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compound_chocolate
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