Lecithin substitute

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Permalink Reply by Marco Dabizzi on May 31, 2011 at 5:45am

:-) It seems like it's a competition between us two, judging from your words. Can't add anything more, we have different views. Anyway, 38.000 customers in three years probably are enough to buy you a fancy sport car, and if you are happy with that it's ok.

 

I still don't like the idea of using soy lecithin (or any other fat other than cocoa butter) in the chocolate, nothing wrong with this, I hope. Also, I would never use Lindt to compare the quality of a good chocolate... :-)

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Permalink Reply by Ice Blocks! on June 6, 2011 at 1:18am

I must agree with you, I don't like Lecithin for a number of reasons.

 

1. Aesthetic
2. Allergen sensitivity.
3. It usually solvent extracted with hexane. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexane http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lecithin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soybean_oil

I suspect its most commonly used by big chocolate to enable mass production machinery to be used with cheapened indredients.

 

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Permalink Reply by Omar Forastero on May 31, 2011 at 9:58am

wooha! things are heatin up here, chocolate is melting :)

Marco I agree with not using any other fat but cocoa butter, however I don't see anything wrong with the use of soy Lecithin. At the end of the day, it's your baby, you decide what baby wears. Alot of chocolatiers use much worse ingredients than all of us and still there product is classified under "chocolate". And if this chocolate did not have a market it sure would not exist. I mean I can't see myself listening to justin beiber, yet beiber has thousands of fans. I can't compare beiber's music to daft punk either coz the genre is completely different. Just like music, you have the mainstream and the indie chocolate. Anyway you both make valid points (besides the muscle flexing) and that's the beauty behind the variety in chocolate abd its ingredients.

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Brad Churchill on May 31, 2011 at 11:22am

Haha!  Well said Omar.

 

I apologize if those reading this think I was being competitive.  The reason I provided stats is because it's easy to hide behind anonymity and "talk the talk" on the Internet having not actually accomplished anything.  At least Marco admitted that he doesn't actually "make" his chocolate.  Thank you for your honesty Marco.

 

I too agree with not using any other fat than Cocoa Butter (well, except for the milk fat present in powdered milk for milk chocolate).  I also agree with using an ingredient like lecithin if it's necessary.

 

As I've repeated, I believe that business is about making profit.  If it isn't, then I challenge whomever questions this philosophy to stop being a hypocrite and stop charging money for their wares.  Unless of course I'm missing something, and everyone out there in chocolate land is independently wealthy.

 

Cheers Omar.  Thanks for the tip on Amonium Phosphatide.

 

Brad

 

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Permalink Reply by Mark Heim on June 2, 2011 at 9:57pm

Lecithin will allow you to use less cocoa butter in your recipe, thinning it to get the flow properties you need for your use.  It affects yield value a little more than viscosity, but overall more fluid rheology.  It does have emulsification properties, and there is water in chocolate.  Most chocolate specifications call for less than 1-1.5% moisture, but it's there.  The refining process generates heat, and some of the sugar becomes amorphous and will draw water from the air, the same thing is seen when you make confectioners sugar where you need a little starch to keep it free flowing.  This moisture is emulsified by the lecithin.  The lecithin has a polar and non polar portion of the molecule, the non polar portion extends into the fat, the polar portion into the moisture, usually on the surface of the sugar.  If lecithin was simply a lubricant it would not start thickening the chocolate when you use too much, even tenths of a percent too much.  It's not necessary but chocolate without it has higher cocoa butter levels compared to chocolate with, made to similar rheology.  The use of PGPR is becomming more common, but does not work very well if not with lecithin.  Both thin the chocolate to let you use less cocoa butter, an expensive ingredient.

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