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Post by jamescary on Feb 22, 2008 14:19:37 GMT -5
I was just reading about the health benefits of mangosteens and noticed they looked somewhat similar to cacao pods - several large seeds surrounded by white fleshy pulp. I began wondering if anyone had heard of the process of fermenting/drying/roasting/grinding being applied to other kinds of fruits. I did notice something called kokam or kokum butter which is made from Garcinia kola and/or Garcinia indica. Apparently the seed, if chewed, tastes bitter like raw coffee but becomes sweeter after chewing for some time. The oil from the seed also is solid at room temp. I wonder if this could be a decent substitute for cocoa butter?
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Post by sugaralchemy on Mar 1, 2008 23:50:17 GMT -5
The functionality of cocoa butter is extremely unique among fats. It is unlikely that cocoa butter and kokum butter are compatible - even if they have the same texture when firm.
If you wish to experiment, I suggest sticking to a single hard fat of your choice but otherwise processing like you would cacao. Particular grades of palm oil / palm kernel oil exist that are excellent bases for "coatings" - chocolate-like products made without cocoa butter.
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Post by jamescary on Mar 3, 2008 16:57:39 GMT -5
Thanks, sugaralchemy! After I posted this, I went back and read some of your earlier postings regarding mixing fats. I had no idea how complex the world of fats is! I'll try the palm oil sometime.
I'm still interested in these other fruits. I picked up some canned mangosteens at the Asian market. The taste was similar to peach but sweeter (a little citrus). The seed was small and soft like a kidney bean. I tried roasting them, but it didn't make much difference (could have been the canning). Does anyone know where to get fresh mangosteens? And also, the fruits of the garcinia varieties?
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Post by sugaralchemy on Mar 10, 2008 4:00:55 GMT -5
Remember, you must have ALL water gone from your product before adding to any kind of chocolate-type system. Canning is definitely going to make stuff wet, and destroy delicate flavor!
A good example of what you could do is combine coffee beans, coating grade palm / palm kernel oil, and sugar then refine to make a sort of coffee-based chocolate. You could also use cocoa butter, as coffee contains too little fat to affect the crystallization. The sky is really the limit on the novel "coatings" you can make.
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Post by jamescary on Mar 11, 2008 1:06:39 GMT -5
Coffee coating.. cool idea.. Thanks, seneca.. Does palm oil temper like cocoa butter?
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