Hey Guys,

I have a question regarding flavored oils in chocolate.

Does anyone know the threshold of flavored oils in chocolate? Currently, I am using a vanilla extract in my chocolate but I'm not getting a strong enough vanilla flavor. The ratio I'm using is 1/2 table spoon per pound of chocolate. Can I just up my oil to a tablespoon per pound or will that compromise the chocolate?

Thanks!!!

updated by @mattworks: 04/09/15 15:50:16

Dunno if you've figured out since you posted but vanilla extract tends to have alcohol and won't work in chocolate - in fact, the more you add, the more you'll end up with a thick sludge and won't be able to temper. Have you tried using vanilla bean? You can add as much as you want.

I just made some chocolate and then flavored it with some orange and peppermint oils. It was two different batches. I used about 15 to 20 drops per pound. This was the first time I used essential oils to flavor my chocolate. After I tempered my chocolate, I added drops of oil, stirred and then tasted it. I kept adding drops until I was happy with the taste.

Most 'off the shelf' vanilla extracts are what's called a single fold (1x) concentration, and use alcohol.  alcohol based flavors will be just fine in chocolate, just keep the concentration less than 1%.  As there are higher concentrations of alcohol (2x, 4x, 6x, etc) one can't really say  how much is the right amount, you'll need to p lay with levels a bit to find that out for yourself.  Other oils have differenet strengths - essential oils for example can be very, very, very potent - to the point where you may have a difficult weighing out a small enough quantity accurately to be consistent.  If you're getting oils from grocery stores (ie consumer type flavorants) those have already been heavily diluted to make it easier for the home cook to manage.

Any recommendations oils brand chocolate?