Hi there,
If I am looking to add cocoa butter to thin out and lower the viscosity of chocolate, does anyone know how much I can add before it will really begin to effect the flavor? Will a higher level of cocoa butter cause my end product to melt easier?
Thanks!
Brianna:
You should only need to add a fairly small amount (<5% by weight) so the answer is ... it depends on the chocolate and the cocoa butter you are using. Unsweetened chocolate (like Guittard Oban) is fairly high in cocoa butter, so if you think you're diluting the flavor, cut down on the butter slightly and add some unsweetened chocolate to the blend. Alternatively, consider using an undeodorized cocoa butter which will have a pronounced chocolate flavor (compared with a deodorized butter).
As for the melt point - some butters have lower melt points than others. Butters with low melt points are considered "soft" and butters with higher melting points are considered "hard". If you add a low melt point butter to a chocolate it may affect the melt point of the blend, also depending on the amount of butter you're adding.
In the end, you'll need to do some experiments to see what works best for you.
Is this related to the enrobing question?
Clay,
Thank you for taking the time to reply, I really appreciate it. I will be using Ramona Guittard. Yes, to answer your question this is about the enrobing question, we have been trying to achieve the thin layer with the enrober, and yes it does have a blower, however this enrober is super ancient and when the blower is on nothing comes out looking nearly as nice as without. So that is why I am wondering if we can achieve the thin layer with a less viscous chocolate and without the blower. Ah yes and I think I may have gotten confused with the weights somehow, I am looking to achieve about a 1/16 of an inch. Also is there a particular brand of cocoa butter that I should consider using with Ramona?
Thanks!
Why don't you call the lab at Guittard? They are very helpful and can answer your questions. Guittard also sells cocoa butter. They might suggest you use a different chocolate than Ramona.
