Can anyone help with information about making chocolate with the precision cooker?

If a roast can be baked or roasted in a plastic bag in water using the Anova Precision Cooker, can the same be done with cacao beans which can be baked or roasted in the oven at temperatures between 100 and 190 degrees in the process of making chocolate?


I put content on the Internet through the use of Facebook, a blog, a vlog, a podcast, YouTube, and webinars to attract tens of thousands of people to me to market my travel guides, trips, and vacations with benefits for Coffee and Chocolate Lovers.

 

I am about to start making chocolate from bean to bar.  As I do I will be followed by thousands of people on the Internet via the content I put up about my process of starting to make chocolate from the bean to my mouth.  I just purchased two precision cookers for tempering the chocolate.

 

I am about to purchase equipment for roasting the beans and then a question occurred to me; one way peanuts are prepared is to roast them, another way is to boil them. I don't know really what the difference is but since cacao beans are roasted and the outer shell is cracked and removed after roasting leaving the cocoa nib, which is what the chocolate is made of, I wonder if your product can be used to roast, "essentially cook" the beans either by putting them directly into the water or putting them into a bag that goes into the water?

 

Roasting the beans develops the flavor, color, and aroma of the chocolate. Apparently, according to this research paper ( http://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2045&context=utk_gradthes), the length of the roast and the temperature impacts the nutrition make up of the chocolate besides the flavor. In that normal roast process I wonder if the air itself has a negative impact on the bean and so if the process was done in an air tight bag in water then what might be the outcome? Anyone there have any thoughts on this possibility?  Or could the bean even be put directly in the water just as peanuts can be boiled?

 

Just like peanuts, Chocolate contains a high amount of fat. Dark chocolate is very high in anti-oxidants which makes it a heart healthy food and is known to lower cholesterol.  The anti-oxidants are in the fat in chocolate and are known to get reduced in the process of normal roasting.  The article cited above indicates changing the roast temperature and the length of time makes a difference in the chocolate.  All good chocolate makers know these variables effect the taste of the chocolate.  I am wondering if the roast affects the anti-oxidants because of the air coming in contact with the cocoa nib inside the bean as it gets roasted?  I also wonder if using an air tight bag and the precision cooker would keep this loss of anti-oxidants from happening.  Any thoughts on any of this?  

 

Makes me wonder how using the precision cooker to do the roast would effect the chocolate.  Any experience, knowledge, or thoughts to share? Roasting is done between 100 degrees and 190 degrees and different amounts of time and temperature will greatly vary the flavor the chocolate maker will get from the bean.

 

Interested in following my progress you can follow me on my Facebook page at:  https://www.facebook.com/MarkClaytonCruiseOne?ref=hl

Very interesting but I have never tried it. I got hooked on roasting my own coffee and I don’t want to be tempted by chocolate as I really enjoy it. I do look forward to reading about your efforts.

You might also look at this thread.
http://community.anovaculinary.com/discussion/640/revolutionary-chocolate-tempering-sous-vide#latest

@ Chocolate Cruises.

Cacao beans, after being picked, are first laid out in the sun to dry before continuing on to the rest of the process. Along the way in th e process, a little fermentation occurs that is critical in flavor development down the line.

Once the beans have dried and the dry "meat" is removed, the beans can then be roasted.

As they roast, the moisture content necessarily will drop, and here is where I believe Sous Vide is not your friend.

Too much moisture, and your Cacao beans will develop mold. Too little and the quality suffers.

For tempering chocolate, Sous Vide may be a great tool.

For Roasting Beans, the old way is best.

(PS if you don't have a concrete patio and tons of sun to dry the beans you can do it in a low oven)


Sous Vide is indeed the best way to temper chocolate:


The Best Way to Temper Chocolate | The Food Lab