notes on flavor

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Permalink Reply by Eric G on January 19, 2010 at 4:23pm

I am working in Vinces, Ecuador and am having problems with high acidity in the licor samples I am making. While searching for info i have found in Samanthas post that:

Acetic acid is produced by bacteria belonging to the Acetobacteraceae family. These bacteria dominate the second (aerobic) phase of fermentation. Acetic acid production peaks about 72 hours after fermentation begins [5], and it has been noted that diffusion of acetic acid through the whole bean is slow [6].

However, it's quite common for Criollo cocoa beans to be fermented for less than 72 hours - sometimes for only 48 hours. Hence, a short fermentation time typically produces less acidic beans than a longer fermentation. (A short fermentation also has major implications relating to taste and flavour development, as mentioned under the "mild flavour" heading above).


However Ive also found in Brady's attachment that:


Acidity (overly) • Short fermentation
• Cocoa grown from highly acidic soils.

So, one post says short fermentation period=overly acidic
while the other says a short fermentation time typically produces less acidic beans than a longer fermentation.
If anyone can help clarify, or suggest other possible causes of, and solutions to highly acidic licor I'd greatly appreciate it.
Cheers,
Eric

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Permalink Reply by Samantha Madell on January 19, 2010 at 5:11pm

Hi Eric - if you don't accept what I wrote (which was referenced as clearly as I could manage), then I suppose nothing further I say will convince you.

Nevertheless, I do stand by what I wrote, and would point out that I did also explain (and reference) the most likely cause of excessive acidity, specifically:

"Excessive acidity in dried cocoa beans is most often caused by force-drying the beans too quickly, at too high a temperature. This causes the shells to dry and harden very quickly, thereby becoming impermeable to the acetic acid, which is then trapped inside the bean [7]."

I've personally witnessed this type of high-temperature force drying in Ecuador.

The usual way of preventing excessive acidity is to dry the beans gently.

The usual way of correcting excessive acidity is to conch the liquor thoroughly, until the worst of the acetic acid evaporates out.

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Permalink Reply by Eric G on January 20, 2010 at 4:06pm

Hi Samantha,
Thanks for your reply, I found your posts to be quite clear and very informative. i wasn't challenging your opinion i just found two contradictory posts and was trying to find more info. The cacao is being sundried in a marquesina. So I am going to try conching for longer to try and lessen the acidity. Also, this growers association sent a sample to a Swiss lab and the results were high bitterness, highly sour and moderatly astringent. I am continuing to play with fermentacion lengths and methods. Thanks again for your posts and comments.
Cheers,
Eric

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Permalink Reply by Brady on October 22, 2008 at 10:08pm

Samantha, Thank you for the time you spent sharing this great information. I hope many others read it too. This is what I was looking for with this post. Brady

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Permalink Reply by James Cary on November 21, 2008 at 6:59pm

Thank you, Brady and Samantha for putting together a great set of information regarding the flavors of chocolate. This information was very enlightening.

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Permalink Reply by James Cary on November 23, 2008 at 3:33am

Also, are you considering flavor in non-100% chocolate? Does sugar contain some flavor of its own?

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Permalink Reply by Samantha Madell on November 23, 2008 at 8:44pm

Hi James,

I'm really glad you found the flavor info useful.

In answer to your question about flavor from sugar:

I define "flavor" as a sensation caused by a combination of taste/s and aroma/s.

Obviously, sugar tastes sweet. But refined white sugar (e.g. sucrose) is an odorless substance, so it has no aroma, and therefore, by my definition, no "flavor" as such.

However, many other sugars, like raw sugar and brown sugar, retain some of the molasses flavour that is produced during the sugar-making process. (Molasses is the thick, dark syrup which is traditionally considered a by-product of sugar manufacturing).

To the best of my knowledge, most chocolate manufacturers go out of their way to use refined white sugar in their chocolate, precisely because white sugar adds nothing but sweetness to the end product.

However, I know from personal experience that it can be very, very difficult to find refined white sugar which is certified organic, or Fair Trade. So, for example, some organic and/or Fair Trade chocolates are made with raw sugar, and the raw sugar inevitably imparts a hint of the molasses flavour to the chocolate.

Also, some milk chocolate manufacturers have traditionally processed their ingredients in such a way that they intentionally caramelize the milk and sugar in order to produce a caramel flavour in the chocolate. (Minifie discusses this issue, but I don't have his book on hand, so I can't provide an exact ref).

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Permalink Reply by James Cary on November 24, 2008 at 2:15am

Thanks. For some reason, I was also thinking that depending on how the sucrose is obtained it might have a different flavor (cane, beets, etc).

Why is there no organic/Fair Trade refined white sugar? Is it just too costly for organic, Fair Trade companies to make refined white sugar?

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