How to... make chocolate
Shane and Dot Neary from NearyNógs Stoneground Chocolate Makers make gorgeous bean to bar chocolate. They have spent years perfecting their craft. Here is their guide to doing it at home.
What equipment and ingredients do you need?
You can use: Convection oven, rolling pin, hair dryer, table top melangeur/grinder, pan, spatula.
How important is the cocoa percentage?
Very important. Some people prefer very dark chocolate (higher percentage) and others prefer not so dark (lower percentages): 100% cocoa for example has no sugar. A 70% means 70% cocoa mass and 30% sugar (or 30% non-cocoa ingredients).
Take us through the steps to make chocolate – what is a simple project to start?
1. Eye exam your raw cocoa beans - look for broken beans, bad beans and stuff that shouldn’t be there i.e. stones, sticks. Remove bad items.
2. Roast your beans in an oven or roaster for about 15-30 minutes between 120°C and 130°C. This depends on your bean origin and what flavour profile you are going for.
3. Break your roasted beans with a breaker, rolling pin or a food processor on quick pulse.
4. Put the mix through a winnower or you can use a bucket and hair dryer.
5. Use the collected nibs by placing them in a melangeur or grinder for 48-72 hours.
6. If you want sugar in your chocolate, do it at step 5.
7. Taste your chocolate, check the texture and if you are happy then pour the chocolate into a pan to cool.
What does tempering chocolate mean? How simple is it to do? Do different types of chocolate require different temperatures?
Tempering chocolate heats and cools the chocolate to align the crystals in the chocolate. It’s a bit of science actually. This gives the chocolate a glossy finish and that classic “snap” when it breaks. It’s easy with practice. Different types of chocolate do require slightly different temperatures. Dark, milk and white all have their own tempering ranges.
What can go wrong? Are there ways to salvage mistakes?
Chocolate sometimes doesn’t temper due to humidity, temperature not being correct or viscosity of the chocolate is not quite right. You can get bars that are not shiny, have bloom on them. The only way to salvage a mistempered bar is to remelt and try again, or turn it into truffles!
How best should we store chocolate?
In a cool, dry, shaded environment. Not near heat sources, direct sunlight and not in the fridge! Chocolate hates heat, water and humidity.
How long would freshly made chocolate last if properly stored?
Fresh made chocolate, without dairy, would last years. As soon as dairy is added its shelf life dramatically decreases.
If you want to customise your chocolate, which flavours go best? Which unusual flavours taste delicious?
Fruits and nuts have always paired well with chocolate! Raspberries, pistachios, hazelnuts and almonds are all traditional. Coffee and chocolate are also long-standing friends.
Small crushed flakes of seaweed pair deliciously with the chocolate and it gives a salty, sweet addition.
Dried corn, toasted oats, turmeric and quinoa are big hits this year as well!