Using Milk

H i would just like to ask if anyone has tried to use fresh milk instead of milk powder to make bean to bar chocolates?

Many - it's how milk chocolate was made for a long time, before drying technologies were invented. It's also the reason crumb was invented. Wet milk brings with it a host of challenges, microbiological and physical. It'll be quite challenging for the average joe to successfully incorporate fluid milk into a moldable chocolate. I'd strongly urge you to take the dried milk approach.

Even for those well versed in the practice of making chocolate, with lots of years of experience and fancy machines - most will elect to go the route of dried milk.

Thanks sebastian, But would you say making milk chocolates from liquid milk would be more appealing or would have a better quality?

is a red car better than a blue car? 8-) appeal and personal preference are multidimensional - and dependent upon many factors that have nothing to do with the final product itself, but involve perception. folks might perceive it to be better because it's made with liquid milk. will it taste different or feel different? that depends entirely on how you process it.

I agree with Sebastian on this one - it really depends how you process and WHO you get your milk from, be it powdered or fresh. Not all milks are created equal, just as not all beans are.

Why not try some small test batches and see for yourself what YOU think about flavour, whether or not the process is worth the outcome, not to mention whether it's viable in your business plan?

I'd be happy to hear your opinions/results!

Hi great guys i will ahve to try this out, i always thought liquid would actually sieze the chocolate in a santha.

If you're aiming for bars as your finished product, obviously you'll have to take some liquid out, as fresh milk is largely water and you won't finish with a very solid product.

If I were experimenting with my own supply of fresh milk, I'd be looking at an evaporative/dehydrative process prior to putting it in the santha.

arghhh thats what i thought . has anyone tried to do praline filling in a santha?

Under no circumstance do i advocate adding fluid milk to your santha. Unless you've got a very good understanding of the microbiological dangers (and controls), and have the appropriate equipment in addition to your santha to help control that, i'd urge you to steer clear from this approach.