I have a 110 volt George Foreman rotary roaster that my friend Lori loaned me. I have used it to roast peanuts to perfection for my wonderful peanut butter, so I figured it would also work for these cacao beans. I put them in the basket a half kilo at a time, and set the dial for the same time we use for peanuts, about 30 minutes. Towards the end we heard the signature popping and cracking that means they are just about done.
The most labor intensive part is removing the shell/skins from the beans. Sometimes the insides come out whole, and sometimes they break into small fragments (which is what is sold as 'chocolate nibs' at Whole Foods). When this was done, we had 3/4 of a kilo of the good stuff, and it smelled very nice!
I put 1/4 kilo of white, granulated sugar in a plastic tub and added to it the middle scrapings from two vanilla beans I have had soaking in alcohol for a long time (making my own extract). I also added about 1/8 teaspoon of ground cardamom. I had Caryl take the pure cacao to the mill and put it through once (making chocolate liquor), then add the stuff from the tub and put it through two more times. When she got it home, Dad put it in the Vitamix and we let it mix for a while longer. According to what I've read, they mix it for a while at a hot temp to aerate it and make it smooth, so this is my answer to that step.
And it tastes really rich and good! It is not perfectly smooth and creamy, but not gritty either, and has a very nice, very dark chocolate kick! It is not bitter. And think of all those amazing antioxidents!
Next we poured it out into little puddles on cooking parchment, which we put in the freezer to harden. When solid, we put the rounds into a tupperware in the fridge. I don't think they will travel well. Sorry, Daniel. Want beans instead?
Maybe if I add just a bit of paraffin next time... Anyone have any other ideas for something to add so that it remains hard at room temperature?
Sorry I didn't take pictures, maybe next time!
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5 comments:
What fun! I would accept beans, if you really want to send them, but I think I might be satisfied in just knowing that "My mom made chocolate, straight from the cocoa beans".
Sounds like a lot of fun, and I'll bet it tastes really good! Please don't add paraffin, though. What about lecithin? Where does cocoa butter come from?
Dad and i were wondering if adding some Dutch cocoa would firm it up a bit. I am guessing the problem is too much cocoa butter, something the pros remove some of with special equipment. So, maybe by adding cocoa powder, we would get the ration of solids to oil back in line.
This idea is enough to do another round!
Sounds like fun!!
I'm impressed! That sounds sooo good. I look forward to the days that Ariana whips up the hot drinking chocolate from the chocolate you send her. Good job enjoying your local bounty.
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