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Post by Mitch30 on Mar 21, 2022 10:20:00 GMT -5
I have seen a lot of posts saying to run the Melanger for 24 Hours. I have seen videos of people saying that, or even running it for 2 days. What I haven't seen any explanation of is WHY?
I have never refined for more than 10 Hours, and I don't have any problems that I know of with the batches. I know a lot might fall under personal preference, but is there a WHY somebody can point out?
Just curious, and yes, I was the annoying kid that asked WHY? about every little thing.
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Post by Chip on Mar 21, 2022 10:27:47 GMT -5
Mitch30, The timing of your batch has many reasons, and you have to find the one YOU like. 1. To offload some of the nasty aromatics that are naturally inherent in cocao beans 2. To totally combine all of the ingredients and make a batch as smooth as possible without adding artifical chemical to achieve the great "mouth feel" 3. To season the chocolate for a particular flavor, aroma and taste. I'm sure Ben will have more intelligent answers, but that is my take on it. However, I've heard of people running batches for 72+ hours. IMHO that would tend to make a dull, lifeless and bland chocolate. I am sure there are some rather astringent beans out there that would need that much time, but I've never run across them. The longest I have run a batch is 36 hours, and that was for a stubborn bean I had.
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Post by Mitch30 on Mar 21, 2022 11:34:56 GMT -5
Thanks, Chip. That pretty much answers that it's personal preference. I love the smell when it is running from the start.
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Post by mark on Mar 22, 2022 20:24:46 GMT -5
When I first started I made test batches using exactly the same ingredients / roasting with varying refining times. It was interesting to taste the differnce and in the end I went for the one I liked best. Also, I know you don't add sugar but I do and the shorter refining times meant there was still some perceivable "grit" from the sugar. Not a defect in my opinion, but many consumers want that smooth mouthfeel.
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Post by Mitch30 on Mar 23, 2022 8:49:53 GMT -5
Thanks for the input, Mark. I'll have to taste the mix hourly starting at say 8 hours and see if I notice any difference. I know it's smooth, that's a given. I'm sure I will have to make a sugar batch for someone soon, so I'll try to figure out when it becomes smooth as well.
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Post by Ben on Mar 23, 2022 12:35:19 GMT -5
Note that in addition to the comments above, the batch size affects the refining time needed. If you're refining 600g of cacao with no sugar in one of the little Premier grinders, 10 hours is probably plenty. But if you're making a 3+ kg batch comprised of 70% cacao and 30% sugar in the same little grinder, 10 hours isn't going to get it smooth or drive off undesirable acids, moisture, etc.
Also, as Chip alluded to, some beans benefit from a more intensive conching step. Since stone grinders are so terrible at conching, this is generally accomplished by lengthening the time spent in the grinder.
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Post by Mitch30 on Mar 23, 2022 13:45:48 GMT -5
Thanks, Ben. I haven't gone above 1kg yet, once I get a foolproof excellent recipe, I will go for 1.5 then keep taking notes etc. I will probably eventually know the difference with 24 hour batches, it just doesn't make sense right now.
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