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Post by krzysiastevens on Mar 17, 2006 13:07:56 GMT -5
I am going to try roasting some beans now, because I am too impatient to wait for this reply, but if I put my oven to the temps suggested, how long do I leave them in there for? What do I do with the beans then? They are still in their little husks. I have no equipment, do I have to chuck 'em in the air and catch them in a sieve or something? When I've done that, can I mash them in a pestle and mortar? I have no coffee grinder, I have a blender and a food processor...I no how awful I sound, but you gotta start somewhere...
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Post by Alan on Mar 17, 2006 13:16:41 GMT -5
What has worked for me is this:
With forastero roast until you get a really nice brownie (an American dessert) smell filling the air. As you first start to notice the smell take out a couple of beans, stir the rest, and put the rest back in for another five minutes. In the mean time, crack and winnow the two you removed (with your fingers) and taste them to see if they have a nicely developed cocoa flavor, or still seem raw. Remember, they won't be sweet at all, and won't have any vanilla flavor, so don't be looking for those. Make sure they are not tasting burnt or you've gone too far. If still raw, then wait until those 5 minutes have passed and take a couple more out, stir, etc. The length of the roast depends on the temperature you are using, how many beans you have, how thick the layer of beans is (if they are in the oven), and what type they are.
Pull all the beans when the ones that you taste are done.
Then you need to crack and winnow the beans. You can do both by hand if you have the time, a blow drier, and a large bowl.
After that, if all you have is a food processor and blender, then try them both and see which one gets your chocolate as finely ground as possible. Make sure that your beans are briefly reaheated before doing this for best results; that is unless your appliances can't handle heat. Regardless, it still won't seem like "normal" chocolate in taste or texture. You'll need to add some sugar and probably vanilla and then it will taste better, but the texture will be rough.
You can try tempering it at this point.
Hope that helps.
Alan
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Post by krzysiastevens on Mar 17, 2006 14:34:16 GMT -5
Wow! It's that easy!
Thanks so much for your swift reaponse. I pretty much did what you said, I may have roasted them a little too long though. I'm not sure, they taste very bitter, but toasty, like toasted almonds. I have only done a very few and am grinding them in a pestle and mortar and getting them very fine. I can't believe I can temper it already! Wow! What should I add, I have vanilla essence and powdered sugar, would that do?
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Post by Alan on Mar 17, 2006 14:38:59 GMT -5
Wow! It's that easy! Thanks so much for your swift reaponse. I pretty much did what you said, I may have roasted them a little too long though. I'm not sure, they taste very bitter, but toasty, like toasted almonds. I have only done a very few and am grinding them in a pestle and mortar and getting them very fine. I can't believe I can temper it already! Wow! What should I add, I have vanilla essence and powdered sugar, would that do? Well, you don't want to add any liquid to the chocolate liquor. If you add vanilla it needs to be vanilla powder (i.e., ground up vanilla bean), and not much of it, as it is very potent. To give you an idea, I used 1/3 of a whole bean in my last batch of 2 lbs. and that was plenty for me. Also, you don't want to add powdered sugar to your chocolate (it contains corn starch). Rather, you should take granulated sugar and grind it up into a fine powder before adding it. Add enough until you are happy with the sweetness. Then you can temper it, and pour it in a mould. Good luck! Alan |
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Post by krzysiastevens on Mar 17, 2006 14:44:22 GMT -5
Done! Though I don't have a vanilla pod...I will just use sugar for the moment and sniff the vanilla essence as I taste the chocolate!
I am very excited!
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Post by krzysiastevens on Mar 17, 2006 14:45:07 GMT -5
Also, you say chocolate liquor, what is that supposed to look like?
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Post by Alan on Mar 17, 2006 14:55:46 GMT -5
Also, you say chocolate liquor, what is that supposed to look like? Well, it should normally look like a liquid with very small particles in it. However, your product should probably look more like a rough, meltey, paste with noticeable particles. The key to get it to be "meltey" is to have it heated and process it enough by whatever means you are using. Otherwise, you will end up with powder. It will still taste good, but the texture will be far from what you are used to. I used to make chocolate like that in a food processor, and I would cook with it, or use it it hot chocolate, etc. Alan |
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Post by Alan on Mar 17, 2006 14:56:32 GMT -5
Good! Let us know how it turns out. Alan |
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Post by krzysiastevens on Mar 17, 2006 14:57:45 GMT -5
It is a powder.
Oh.
I am going to make it into a hot chocolate drink now.
I'll try again tomorrow, I have to process it while it is still hot, that is not going to be easy.
I'll let you know hoe it tastes, thanks a lot for your help!
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Post by Alan on Mar 17, 2006 15:04:37 GMT -5
It is a powder. Oh. I am going to make it into a hot chocolate drink now. I'll try again tomorrow, I have to process it while it is still hot, that is not going to be easy. I'll let you know hoe it tastes, thanks a lot for your help! No problem, just make sure you grind it up finely before adding it to your milk for hot chocolate. Also, if you want to get the powder hot first for grinding it some more, try this: Get a large baking dish, pour the powder in a spread it out as thinly as possible. Put the cocoa in an oven heated up to about 160-175 and heat the powder until it is hot. Then dump it immediately into a food processor and process at the highest speed until it starts to come together. You'll see that the texture will start to change from powder to liquid. Then you have chocolate!...though it will still be a bit "rustic." Alan |
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Post by krzysiastevens on Mar 18, 2006 3:53:06 GMT -5
This really is incredibe, I can't believe that I can actually make chocolate from scratch so (relatively) easily.
I made the powder into a drink of hot chocolate, without vanilla as I had none and it was incredible! My husband was amazed!
A bit gritty granted, even after I used a tea strainer but it tasted proper chocolatey!!
Thanks Alan, for all your help.
Gonna try heating my powder now to make a liquor. I'll let you know how I go. I have a small food processor that is designed to puree baby food, so it does small amounts, I'll try that first I think.
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Post by krzysiastevens on Mar 18, 2006 5:34:58 GMT -5
I ground up some roasted beans in a pestle and mortar, then spread the coarse powder on a baking sheet and put in a hot oven for a few minutes. Then I tipped the powder into a baby foodblender and kept on whizzing until it formed a paste. I couldn't get it more liquid than a paste, so then I added some sugar.
It is sweet with a burnt chocolatey taste, so I think I may have overdone the beans at the beginning.
Then I tempered it! It is in a mould in the fridge as I write!
My kids licked the sppon, twice, so it must have tasted all right to them!
One (more) question, how would I make milk chocolate? Could I add milk powder?
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Post by krzysiastevens on Mar 18, 2006 6:33:58 GMT -5
I MADE CHOCOLATE!!!!!!
I actually made edible, tasty (if a little gritty) fantastic chocolate, from a bag of funny-smellin' beans!!!
I am very impressed with myself!
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Post by Alan on Mar 18, 2006 8:00:02 GMT -5
I ground up some roasted beans in a pestle and mortar, then spread the coarse powder on a baking sheet and put in a hot oven for a few minutes. Then I tipped the powder into a baby foodblender and kept on whizzing until it formed a paste. I couldn't get it more liquid than a paste, so then I added some sugar. It is sweet with a burnt chocolatey taste, so I think I may have overdone the beans at the beginning. Then I tempered it! It is in a mould in the fridge as I write! My kids licked the sppon, twice, so it must have tasted all right to them! One (more) question, how would I make milk chocolate? Could I add milk powder? Yes, all you have to do is add some milk powder. Preferably you would use whole milk powder, but you could also use non-fat milk powder and a bit of clarified butter. Just remember to never get any water or water based products in the chocolate. I am actually making some strong milk chocolate right now, so it might interest you to read the thread here: chocolatetalk.proboards56.com/index.cgi?board=formulations&action=display&thread=1141169019&page=1that is related to my endeavor and deals with issues of milk powder additons. I am happy that I could help you make chocolate. I can feel your excitement bubbling up of the webpage! That's how it should be. Chocolate is an amazing thing.  Alan |
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Post by krzysiastevens on Mar 19, 2006 7:36:08 GMT -5
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