Ask the Alchemist #27

If you are making chocolate at home how can you make sure (if at all) that any harmful bacteria is killed as you can’t heat the chocolate to 165 F/75 C or above as this would ruin the chocolate. I suppose I could always heat the milk with the cocoa butter to the required temp before adding the beans.

Well, it would seem you have a misconception about heating and bacteria. Let’s try and clear those up.

To make chocolate (we are not going to talk about raw chocolate, but this conversation is actually one of my major issues with raw chocolate) you need to roast the cocoa beans. This reaches temperatures well over 250 F/120 C, more than hot enough to ensure any bacteria is killed.

After that, chocolate can still be heated above 75 C. Some chocolates are taken to 80 C without being ruined. Regardless, roasting takes care of it. Further (since you mentioned it), milk powders are already 'safe' and do not need any further heating to take care of bacteria. They (and cocoa butter and sugar) are tested for Salmonella, E. coli, and have a general HPC (hertrotrophic plate count – general bacteria) for which they must pass.

Alright, I think that clears up some of the misconceptions. Let’s talk a little more about roasting and bacteria and making chocolate.

Some years ago I analyzed raw and roasted cocoa beans for both e coli and a general HPC of a variety of cocoa beans I had on hand. I also treated some with some ‘classic’ food safe cleaning agents such as bleach (no, I would not want to eat this either), peroxide, water (general washing) and an over the counter produce wash.

I’ll say right off that I no longer have the actual reports and analysis, but as you will see, the results were so clear, I stopped testing.

All the beans I tested were positive for E. coli (I had previous tested 10 different origins, and picked the 3 that were contaminated – note, these were test beans, and I rejected them, so they were never for sale) and gave a result of TNTC (too numerous to count) for 10 beans in 100 ml of sterile water.

I prepared three roasts of three different beans (yes, 9 roasts).

• 185 F for 60 minutes.
• 250 F for 40 minutes
• 350 for 20 minutes.

I choose those times as they give me something resembling a proper roast flavor (my at-home indicator).I also soaked each of the three origins in the following solutions:

• 0.5% bleach (1:10 of household bleach – ICK)
• 3% peroxide (what you can get readily)
• Produce wash (just following the directions…at twice the concentration)
• Water (sterile).

I let all of them soak 30 minutes (yes, I know, they would not be edible (did you know wet cocoa beans are slimy?), but I was proving a point here…busting a myth here one might say, before mythbusting became cool.)The results you ask?

All the roasted beans were E. coli negative.

All the roasted beans were <10 colony/10 beans (note, this does not mean I saw some colonies, only that of the 100 ml of liquid, we only used 10 ml, so the detection limit goes up – I saw no colonies)

All the cleaning agent washes were UNCHANGED. Positive E. coli and the HPC were all TNTC.

Roasting – Confirmed

Washing solutions – Busted

So, when you hear someone tell you they washed their raw beans for their great raw chocolate, you remember this. (Note: again, I am NOT saying raw chocolate is contaminated – only that treatments do bumkis. The only chance of safe raw chocolate is starting with safe, clean beans).

Moving on. Once you have your clean beans (which you feel pretty damn good about simply because they taste fine – handy isn’t that), the only other thing you need to concern yourself with is cross contamination. You need to keep your raw and roasted cocoa beans separate so you do not cross contaminate them. This means dedicated bowls, spoons, etc. One for the raw, one for the roasted. That kind of thing. And you washed your hands, right? Look at that – mom was right again.

So, will this guarantee your chocolate is bacteria free and safe to eat? Nope. Not unless you actually have it tested. But it DOES give strong evidence that if you follow basic food handling procedures (start with clean product, cook adequately, wash your hands, don’t cross contaminate) you are probably going to be just fine.

Relax. Don’t worry. Have some chocolate.

Ask the Alchemist #26

What factors affect refining time for chocolate, and what are some different ways to tell if it is done? Are there ways to speed it up or extend it if needed?All good, common questions that have pretty straightforward, albeit, somewhat less than perfectly helpful answers most people want. Forewarned….. I guess the first thing that needs to be done is to define that we (or at least I) are talking about refining in a Melanger containing 1-9 lbs of chocolate. I will say at the outset that the choice of the Melanger has little effect on refining time. Maybe a little, but probably the least to the point they can all be considered equal for this discussion. After that, these all affect refining time:

• Amount refined
• The recipe
• Moisture
• Your tastes

The first is pretty straightforward. The more chocolate, the longer the time. I can generally have a small 1 lb batch of 80% chocolate refined in 12 hours, and it’s very close in 8 hours….but sometimes it’s 14-16 hours.Putting in the second items, if I have two recipes that differ only in the amount of cocoa butter, the one with more cocoa butter will tend to refine faster. Why – it’s really related to the viscosity (or how thick) of the chocolate. The less viscous, the more force can be applied to the refining process. That relates to item 3 – the moisture. The more moisture, the thicker and more viscous the batch will be and the addition of lecithin to bind some of that moisture can reduce your refining time. How much? It could be as little of a difference of 1-2 hours or it could be 10-12-20 hours….depending on how much you are refining….and what your recipe is (see how helpful this isn’t?) Back to the recipe; If you have more things to refine in your batch, it WILL take more time. 70% dark will take longer than 80% dark. 50% milk will take longer than 50% ‘dark’ (it’s not very dark at that point) because milk powder takes longer than sugar. 20% milk with 30% sugar vs 15% milk with 35% sugar…hell if I know. Too close to call without trying it. Seeing a pattern yet?

As for when – well, that is easy…..wait for it….when it seems right to you. Are YOU happy with it? Does it seem gritty still? Let it keep going. Seriously. Sure, you could work out some fancy ass, expensive way to get a particle size distribution plot (no, it’s not just one number), but in the long run, it’s how it feels in your mouth.

Can you speed it up? You can pre-grind your cocoa nibs (only if you are adding them direct), and/or sugar, but I’ve only found this to affect the total time by 1-2 hours – not usually worth the effort in my opinion.

Can you extend it? Now this is an oddly good question. Why you may ask would you want to extend it? Because Melangers do TWO things. They refine and they conch. Two DIFFERENT things happen initially, at the same time, when using a Melanger. Refining is particle size reduction. Conching is much more chemical in nature (oxidation among other things) that occurs by the stirring of melted (refined) chocolate. Basically this means you refine for the first 0-24 hours until it cannot get any smoother. But Conching is happening somewhere around the 2 hour mark until you stop – maybe 10-12-20 hours after it is smooth. It could well be you want the refining time to match that conching time a little closer (because you like the flavor – this is NOT something I’ve played with, but have heard about it). How would you do that? Loosen the tension on the Melanger (only possible with the Spectra’s and Premier wet grinder).

What does that all mean? It means what I’ve always said. Refining will take anywhere from 8-48 hours with the average falling somewhere in the 18 hour mark, depending on your recipe, how much you are refining and how smooth you want it. Why can’t I tell you any better? Well, because the interrelated, multi-variable function is just too damn complex, and we don’t really even know what that equation looks like.

What might it look like? Couldn’t I just give it?

OK here.

Happy? Have fun. Solve away.

OK, so that is NOT the equation for refining chocolate. That is the Time-dependent Schrödinger equation or single non-relativistic particle – i.e. position of the electron in SIMPLEST system we have – that of the hydrogen atom. But it would look similar and it just gets more complex from there. It is WAY easier and more productive (and FUN) to just know it’s about 18 hours for an average batch of average chocolate and that you should taste it until you are happy.

Ask the Alchemist #25

I am wondering about chocolate and refrigeration. How does it affect chocolate in setting up during molding, in storage, and in transport for shipping? Does the moisture have a negative impact?

It is kind of interesting (to me) how questions like this come up just a short time after I’ve done some experimentation. In particular, how refrigeration affects the tempering process. Let us take each stage and see how forced chilling and cooling temperatures affect chocolate.

To begin, even though it was not asked, I’m going to touch on cocoa beans, nibs and butter. If you have clean, pest-free cocoa beans, you get cold beans. No really. That’s it. It does not significantly affect how fresh your beans are or how long they keep. Most beans have shelf lives in the years. Maybe if you have a full 70 kg bag that you want to keep fresh, it might be of some use. But if you only have a few pounds, the hope and expectation is you will be using them before they can deteriorate. And really, a cold temperature is only going to extend the life 10-15% BUT the chance of moisture getting in and lessening the shelf life is much greater. Cool and dry and you are fine. And this goes with nibs and cocoa butter also. In 8 years, I’ve never had either go ‘bad’. One quick note here though. This is for raw beans. Roasted cocoa beans are a different story...but only slightly. Roasted beans do go stale after a couple weeks to a month. Not really bad – but no longer vibrant. But again, refrigeration hardly helps. The chemical reactions that cause beans to go stale are nearly unaffected by cold temperatures. All you end up with are cold stale beans. Basically fresh is best.

Moving on to tempering, I tried the following. I took some tempered, liquid chocolate from my tempering bowl and put one mold’s worth in the refrigerator, one at room temperature and one outside in the ‘cool’ weather (about 55-60 F). What I found was a little surprising to me. The two unrefrigerated ones worked just fine. But the refrigerated one actually bloomed. Why is this? Well, it’s conjecture on my part, but I think it tried to rush the crystallization process too much. The Type V crystals could not form fast enough around the seed, so at the surface where the chocolate was forced to set up, other crystals were formed, and that is basically the definition of bloom. As for the other two, the ‘cool’ one did best. Basically picture perfect. The cool temperature encouraged even, smooth crystal growth and the Type V formed through out. As for the room temperature one, it was moderate. There was just a touch of swirl on the surface. Basically just the barest hint of ‘almost bloom’. In this case, the ‘warm’ extended the tempering process too long, and a few other crystals had a chance to form on the surface. So, it’s basically the Goldilock’s syndrome. Not too hot, not too cold, but just right is what is needed for a good consistent temper. Which unsurprisingly is why there are cooling boxes and tubes in many commercial chocolate factories. Basically it’s a way to control the final stage of the tempering process.

As for storage – we are basically back at cool and dry are best. My rule of thumb is if you are comfortable, your chocolate will be comfortable. If you are in upper east or west nowhere, and it is does not get above the melting point of tempered chocolate (90-92 F) then you are good to go. If you are down south, where it’s 95 F in the shade, yeah, go ahead and double bag your chocolate (chocolate REALLY likes to absorb odors) and put it into the refrigerator.

Finally, transport. That’s tough. In the summer, even if it is pretty cool, many transport vehicles can get HOT, and if you don’t do anything to protect your tempered chocolate (like with ice or cold packs) it will most likely melt and then bloom. And depending on how far you have to ship, there may simply be no good solution except to wait for cooler weather before shipping. But I will point out that cocoa butter is FINE. I ship all the time in hot weather. The bags are double sealed, the cocoa butter melts in transport, sets up when it arrives and is none the worse for the adventure. Sure, it’s not tempered, but it was not tempered when it left here and you are going to be melting it anyway.

That’s basically it. Think comfort. If you are comfortable, your chocolate will be comfortable. Goldilocks zone baby, Goldilocks. Not too hot, not too cold but just right.

Ask the Alchemist #24

My process is a bit different so I wonder if you could comment on the adjustments I've made and whether you would expect poor/different results than your normal process. Others may also find some value in the alternate process.

First, I'm using a Whirly Pop popcorn maker on the stove top for the roasting. I drilled a hole in the top so I could insert a thermometer to monitor air temp to control the roast. I previously used this for a coffee roasting project as well with decent results. I got one Whirly Pop in a thrift store for $5 or buy new for $20.

If you can keep the heat low enough, a Whirly pop is great. The main issue is just getting the roast long enough without scorching the outside and having the interior underdone. I've used one myself and liked it - after I knew how to roast. The main reason I don't mention it is that actually describing to someone how to use it is pretty difficult.  You knew how to roast coffee.  Coffee has good clues - cocoa not so many. I find a tendency to over roast with a surface cooking method like this.  But it is possible to get it right.  As you did.

Second, I remove the husks by hand one by one. As time consuming as this sounds I find it easy to do while watching TV and can do about 2 pounds per hour. With practice The husk can be removed without the whole, roasted bean fragmenting and slowing you down.

If you like doing it this way, it is hands down the best way to get the most out of your beans with the least waste....but again, I don't advocate it that much because it is SO time intensive. 2 lbs takes me about 1.5 minutes.  But never let it be said I would suggest anyone stop anything they enjoy. And I am also not a TV watcher.

Third, once the beans are all de-husked (no need for winnowing by the way) I put them in the stock Cuisinart we had in the kitchen. I found that with the standard blade the beans will grind into a powder very quickly but will start to look damp from released cocoa butter in 2-3 minutes and get fully liquid in 5-8 minutes with about 12-16 ounces at a time in the Cuisanart. So, no need for a Champion juicer in this method. Oh, and I add the sugar in at this stage too so it gets mixed in well and chopped a bit.

I've found that it is possible to burn beans this way if you are not careful. There is a lot of friction produced, and you can get spot burning.  And again, very time intensive.  The Champion does 5 lbs in the same time with little chance of burning.   But if that is what you have around, and you like the flavor, then by all means, there is no reason not to use it.   And the Cuisinart DOES have the advantage of not wasting 6 oz like the Champion does.  As a minor alternative, you can using it 2-3 minutes, where the cocoa just starts to look damp, and then add it to the Melanger.  That is the main change I would actually recommend.

From here I go straight into an Ultra Wet grinder ($80 used on Craigslist - it helps to be near a large Indian community) and let it go for many many hours, tasting periodically.

The Ultra Wet grinder was the starting point of the ECGC line - I liked it a bit. Not a huge fan of the conical wheels (they spray chocolate) but it refines just fine.

The product seems OK though as a novice it is hard to tell. Ive over roasted a couple of pounds but other than that so far so good. Ive stuck with a simple 70% dark chocolate by the way so far.

That is a great place to start. 95% of my chocolate is 75% - basically your recipe plus 5% cocoa butter.

What do you think?

I think you have been very industrious, used what you had on hand, and with very good results. From experience, it's way more work than many people want to put in, but that does not make it right or wrong nor better or worse. It's also very similar to where I started so many years ago. My first attempts were roasting with an air popper (3-4 oz at a time), peeling by hand, and using only the Champion (this was before I discovered Wet Grinders, hacked one, and had Santha start making them for me [yes, for those that don't know, Wet Grinders as small scale Melangers actually started with Chocolate Alchemy - I didn't jump on the proverbial band wagon - I built the band wagon that others jumped onto]). My goal has been approachability and consistency. But there are tons of ways to make chocolate, and you have a very good method there....especially, and most importantly, if you like the result.

That's what I think.

Ask the Alchemist #23

“I want to make a Chocolate bread. Not a batter bread with just baking soda, but a real, yeasted, chocolate bread. Can you help?”

Ask and you shall receive. I expect to hear how it turned out.

Chocolate Bread by David Lebovitz ala the Chocolate Alchemist

3/4 cup (180 ml) whole or low-fat milk, heated until just tepid 1 T active dry yeast

4 tablespoons (75 g) sugar

4 tablespoons (55 g) butter, salted or unsalted

6 ounces (85 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon sea salt

2 cups (280 g) bread flour

3/4 cup (3 1/2 ounces, 90 g) chocolate chips or coarsely chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate

1/2 cup (70 g) toasted pecans, walnuts, almonds, or hazelnuts, coarsely chopped (optional)

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the milk. Add one tablespoon (11 g) sugar, then set aside in a warm place for 10 to 15 minutes, until bubbles form on the surface.

2. While the yeast is activating, in a small saucepan, melt the butter and 6 ounces chocolate over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir occasionally, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat.

3. Once the yeast mixture is frothy, mix in the remaining sugar, the egg, vanilla, and sea salt.

4. Stir in half the flour, then the melted butter and chocolate, then the remaining flour mixture, stirring until well-incorporated. If using a stand mixer, attach the dough hook and beat for five minutes, until smooth. If making by hand, mix vigorously with a flexible spatula for the same amount of time. The dough will seem quite moist, resembling sticky brownie batter when ready.

5. Cover the bowl and let rise in a warm place for 2 hours.

6. Butter a 9-inch (23 cm) loaf pan.

7. Stir in the chopped chocolate and nuts, if using. Then use a spatula to fold the dough over on itself in the bowl for about thirty seconds, then transfer it to the buttered pan, pressing a bit to spread it to the corners. Let rise in a warm place for one hour.

8. Ten minutes before you’re ready to bake the bread, preheat the oven to 350ºF (175ºC.)

9. Bake the bread for 35 to 40 minutes, until it feels done and sounds hollow when you tap it.

Ask the Alchemist #22

I want to offer a fairly consistent single-origin products to my customers. In general, which beans do you tend to have a consistent supply of, and which ones are more seasonal or variable?

There is no really great answer here.  Which is one of the reasons, I, as Chocolate Alchemy, am here.  Very generally speaking, most everything I carry I attempt to keep a steady supply of, and unless otherwise stated, it's here for a pretty long haul.  And when it's not here long term, I say so.  For instance, everything I currently have is 'long term' with the exception of the Venezuelan.  It's not always around mostly due to the difficulties of working in origin.

As for a more useful answer, I like to work hand in hand with both my suppliers and my customers, keeping everyone in the loop as to what I need, what I have and what I can offer.  But I can only do that if you too tell me what you need (like the above question).  I put out a monthly wholesale e-mail that lists what is available, how much is around, for how long and also what is up and coming so you can attempt to plan accordingly.

So, if I don't say otherwise, bean supplies are stable and readily available.  If you want to be really sure, write and ask me and I am more than happy to work with you to make sure you have what you need - that's my job and what I love doing.  If a bean is in limited supply, I will say so, and basically all bets are off how long it will last.

I hope that helps.

Ask the Alchemist #21

"What is the best (fill in the blank - cocoa, chocolate, roast profile, recipe, etc)?"

I get variations of this question quite a bit.  And in some ways it is a very easy answer (you will get it below) and in others, it's impossible (or, I'll get to that below also).

And the answer is.....

The Best chocolate/cocoa bean/roast profile/recipe is the one YOU like the most!

I'm serious.  That's that answer.

In my opinion, there is no one, best, anything.  Sure, there can certainly be better or worse between a couple items, and if you get into concrete data (which cocoa bean has the best preparation?) you can answer it.  But 'which is best' is a subjective question based on YOUR OWN personal tastes and no one, not me, not you, not the person who has been tasting and evaluating chocolate for 73 years can tell YOU what YOU like best.  Only you can do that.

That is why, in general, you won't find many (if any) absolute concrete roast profiles, recipes or bean declarations here.  You will find starting points.  Places that will allow you to make good chocolate.  But after that, it is up to you to make it into the chocolate you find the best, keeping in mind, that not every bean can be made into a chocolate that YOU like.  The best you can do is attempt to make it into the best chocolate that you can and fit it to your tastes.

So, when you hear someone claim "The Best X ever" - keep this in mind and weigh with a grain of salt what they are saying, but because unless the phrase continues "This is the Best X I've ever had" then there just might be a little hype and spin going on.

Ask the Alchemist #20

Have you tried the Omega 8004 Nutrition Center Juicer to process chocolate? Could any of its limitations be worked around? I recently purchased one in a bid to drink more vegetable juice but also with the hope that I could use it to process cocoa beans. If not the Omega, possibly the Vita-Prep 3 blender would suffice? I would like to avoid acquiring a Champion with its overlapping capabilities to these other appliances which I own.

I've not tried the Omega, but looking at the auger, I am very doubtful it would work.  It's a very powerful press, but has no cutting ability, which cocoa needs.  As a juicer, it works great, but cocoa isn't juice or a fruit.   Also, one of it's selling points is that it runs at 80 rpm - and is cool.  Exactly what you can't have for chocolate as it needs friction to liquefy.  The Champion juicer works because the teeth on the cutter wheel chew up the cocoa, releasing cocoa butter trapped in the cells, allowing the whole mixture to flow.  And it generates a good bit of friction partly by running at 1200 rpm.

The rule of thumb I have learned to use for evaluating different juicers and grinders for this case is asking 'will it make nut butters?'.  If the answer is yes, it will work for chocolate.  If no, it won't.  I've yet to have this evaluation not work. As for the Vita-Prep 3, I know it will not work.  I tried it early on.  It burns the chocolate by running too fast. In this case it's is too much power and friction and the fact that the chocolate has nowhere to go once it starts to liquify.

This final part (a place to go) is why (in my opinion) the Champion works so well.  It cuts open the cells.  It creates just enough friction to melt the cocoa butter.  And once the butter/liqueur is flowing, it is removed from the area by coming out the screen or snout so it does not burn.

Ask the Alchemist #19

"How do cold Winter temperatures affect the chocolate making process? Are there any considerations I should make for roasting, refining or tempering?"

Well, at first, I think this is very obvious – but then when you know the answer to something, it IS obvious. But I also know being caught off guard by cold temperatures, so know it is not all that obvious.

First off, if you are making your chocolate inside (many people make it in shops, out buildings, etc) and you keep it comfortable to most people (70 – 75 F) then effectively you have negated the cold whether outside and you can just proceed as normal.

That is kind of the cop out answer though.

The answer to the implied question is that the cold and chocolate, in nearly all cases of making it, don’t get along. And really, it’s because you either need heat (for roasting) or need the chocolate in a liquid, fluid form, and that’s only going to happen if it is warm. So, let’s run through each step and point out the ‘obvious’ if you are not working in a warm environment.

Roasting. The colder it is where you are roasting, the more consideration you need to give to insulation. If you are roasting where it is 50 F, then you are going to have to add more heat to your roaster to compensate for heat losses. You may need to pre-heat a bit more, or roast a little less.

Cracking/Winnowing – This was not asked about….and really behaves just fine no matter the temperature.

Refining – OK, this is a big one. Pre-heat everything. Drum. Rollers. Nibs. Melt the cocoa butter. Sugar. Sure, some heat is generated, but if the area is cold, you are losing heat also. From a practical standpoint, I’ve found about 60 F is the lowest temperature that works without additional heat. Below that the chocolate can actually start to set up. Most of the time the chocolate will set up on the rollers and the drum will keep spinning, but there is the chance the drum will jam and you can burn out your belt or worse the motor. A standard 100 W bulb shinning on the drum will go a long way to keeping everything warm enough.

Tempering. This is where I’ve had the most issues. And usually when working with a slab. Unless you keep your working space warm all the time, that slab can stay pretty cold. Once I warmed up the house, poured out my chocolate on my granite slab….and it set up. Just because the air was warm did not mean everything was. Just think ahead. Or bowl temper. Or use a tempering machine. Mostly be aware. If it’s cold, the chocolate is going to want to set faster and you have to work faster and that is not always a recipe for success. In most cases, having a warm water bath handy so you don’t have to work fast is the better option. Or just working when it is fully warm.

That’s really it. Just think if you are truly comfortable. If you are cool, or need to have long sleeves on or something, then the chocolate is going to want some warming up too.