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This is more of a theoretical question. But assuming I have the following ingredients

  • Cocoa powder / Cocoa Mass (containing no cocoa butter or trace amounts of it)
  • Sugar
  • Shea Butter

I've been reading that CBEs like Shea Butter can be used for replacing Cocoa Butter while making chocolate[1]. However most resources say it requires tempering.

  1. How can I temper shea butter in chocolate?
  2. What is the right ratio to use shea butter if I were to make pure shea butter based chocolate?

[1] https://web.archive.org/web/20190107151600/https://knowledge.ulprospector.com/1085/fbn-cocoa-butter-alternatives-chocolate/

zetaprime
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1 Answers1

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Interesting question, but for practical purposes, I think it is a dead end.

If you want something resembling a Lindt chocolate bar, you cannot make it at home. You just don't have the machinery needed to create the needed particle size of the starchy phase. There is by the way no "cocoa mass containing no cocoa butter or trace amounts of it", the best you can get is strongly defattted cocoa powder at about 5% cocoa butter, and that is already so dry that you couldn't have it behave as "cocoa mass", you can only get is as powder. And this powder particle's sizes are several orders of magnitude larger than those needed for a chocolate bar. You need a tightly controlled industrial process with specialized machines to make the bar from that point. Even if there are manufacturers who have managed to engineer a similar process with shea butter as a substitute, you can't replicate it in your kitchen.

If you want something else instead of a smooth bar, the best you can get will be some liquidish product, maybe a ganache or a hot chocolate replacement. There you don't need tempering, because you dissolve the whole thing and emulsify the fat, it is no longer sitting around in crystalized form.

rumtscho
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    I already have a melanger. Which I use to refine the cocoa solids and I can already create the smooth bars using cocoa mass and cocoa butter. Can you reconsider your reply, with this knowledge at hand, that's the reason why I specifically asked for shea butter tempering (if possible) – zetaprime Jan 08 '19 at 14:59
  • Oh, it's news to me that there are home-compatible versions. Then I am afraid I don't have the more specific information you wanted, else I would have loved to update. I think I will leave the answer here instead of deleting it, since the information is probably relevant to the vast majority of people who stumble on the question, even if not for you, since you are lucky to have the equipment. Very interesting project you've got, I hope somebody else can supply the information you need, and I'd love to hear how it turned out. – rumtscho Jan 08 '19 at 15:09
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    I'm repurposing an indian spice grinder, also known as wet grinder. – zetaprime Jan 08 '19 at 15:17
  • Aha, and this gets you the right texture with pure chocolate mass? This is very interesting, I am now itching to write a question of my own how it is done so you can answer it. – rumtscho Jan 08 '19 at 15:36
  • @rumtscho I'd think a Sous-vide setup, which is also a darn fine water bath for anything between 30° and 100°C might make it possible, especially if you build a container with a port for a homogenizer. – Wayfaring Stranger Jan 08 '19 at 16:59
  • @WayfaringStranger the problem is not the constant temperature, the problem is being able to grind the cocoa particles to the right size so you can not taste any grittiness, but don't make them so small that you lose the robust cocoa aroma. A "port for a homogenizer" wouldn't be enough, the homogenization process is long, and you have to keep an optimal temperature during that (which might not be the same as the optimal temperature for tempering). You might even need a means of cooling alongside with a means of heating. But the hardest problem remains getting the right particle size. – rumtscho Jan 08 '19 at 17:03
  • @WayfaringStranger actually, if you speak German, one of the early episodes of the Omega Tau podcasts explains it in more detail - they had interviewed Ritter Sport people on how they manufacture chocolate, and also on how they design their process. But I am 90% sure that it was a German episode, not an English one. – rumtscho Jan 08 '19 at 17:05
  • @rumtscho I have German, so perhaps I'll look it up. Some of these commercial production processes are amazing. Some are kludgeable at home if you have a decent shop in the basement. – Wayfaring Stranger Jan 08 '19 at 18:09
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    @rumtscho Yes I just start with melted cocoa butter, topping it up with roasted nibs and finally sugar when it all seems to be combined. After grinding for 24 to 36 hours, I get a very fine “melted” chocolate. And what’s left is just tempering ;) – zetaprime Jan 09 '19 at 08:02
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    @zetaprime 24-36 hours! That's some serious grindage. Do you happen to know the grit size of your device? What's it made of? – Wayfaring Stranger Jan 09 '19 at 18:56
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    It creates particles less than 20 microns in size. It’s made of granite. – zetaprime Jan 09 '19 at 19:38
  • Particle sizes for comparison: https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/particle-sizes-d_934.html – Wayfaring Stranger Jan 09 '19 at 19:48