How to create liquor flavored chocolate (Bean to Bar)
One of the current Bean To Bar techniques consists of integrating flavors into the cocoa nibs before they are grinded, by the impregnation technique. One of the most interesting ones consists of pairing cocoa nibs with different types of spirits: Whisky, PX, Rum, Tequila, etc.
The cocoa nibs are usually impregnated with liquor by keeping them vacuum-packed with the chosen liquor for approximately 24 hours; this process must be carried out in vacuum preservation bags.
This process requires that the nibs have the necessary time to integrate all the nuances of the liqueur. Once marinated, they are strained, dried in the oven, and passed through the wet grinder until the right grain size and the perfect chocolate with liqueur flavor are obtained. This process takes approximately 7 hours more. The use of this technique causes the nib to absorb both the flavor of the liquor and the alcohol, ultimately affecting the quality of the cocoa.
Girovap for Pastry Chefs
To improve the quality of the chocolate, we can use the Girovap professional reduction distiller for food and beverages, which allows us to de-alcoholise the liquor and impregnate the cocoa nibs with all their flavour together with the sugars contained in the liquor.
Girovap carries out this process as follows:
In the flask (or distillation vessel), the cocoa nibs are added together with the liquor and sealed under vacuum. The magnetic rotation system evaporates the alcohol at low temperature and the product is impregnated with the concentrated flavors.
Its rotating paddles massage the nibs, increasing their impregnation with the liquor, while the alcohol in the liquor evaporates.
After removing almost all the liquid by cold evaporation, the nibs go directly to a less aggressive drying process, as they have almost no residual liquid or alcohol. Once the drying process is completed in a dehydrator at 70°C, the nibs are then refined in the Twin Stones melanger.
“Working with Girovap improves the efficiency of the degree of impregnation and allows the product to be dealcoholised in 1 hour. A plus point of this system is that the resulting Nibs retain and absorb the natural sugars of the liquor.”
– Chef David Gil by I+Desserts
If the recipe requires it, spices, powdered milk, etc. can be added to create a unique and very high-quality chocolate. The whole process takes approximately 6 hours for 1 kilo of nibs and 1 liter of liquor.
This same system can be done with natural fruit pulp instead of liquor, achieving a degree of purity and taste closer to the natural one, saving product.
Click here to see the video on how Girovap works.
