Chocolate and Vanilla Extract

Hi, I tasted with a little sugar yesterday and it tastes good. It’s chocolate tasting but I’d like it just a little stronger. I’ll wait a month to try again. I don’t have more beans to add as all are extracting. Thanks for the help.

Hi Mary, it sounds like you used a great ratio of extract/milk to taste test! We would recommend adding another 1/2oz of vanilla beans to the extract if you have them, and leave for another month or so; vanilla naturally brings sweetness. You could first try tasting the extract with a little sugar added though to see if it’s to your liking. Let us know how it turns out!

I used 4oz of nibs and 8 oz of Bacardi white rum. I also used 1/2oz of Ugandan beans. Did I use too much extract to taste for the amount of milk? I see some people test their extracts with 1/4 tsp of sugar.

Hi Mary, I’m so sorry to hear that your extract tastes bitter after 3 months. I’m sure it’s fixable though :-) What quantity of cacao nibs and alcohol did you use? and what kind of alcohol?

Hi, well my chocolate extract has been brewing 3 months today. We tasted it and it is soooo bitter with an alcohol kick. If I let it go another 3 months, will the bitterness increase? I have 1/2 oz of Ugandan beans in there. If I let it go longer, will the bitterness increase? We tested a little less than a teaspoon in a tablespoon of milk.

Hi Heather, we always like to reuse our extract ingredients when we can and you can absolutely use the chocolate nibs after they’ve been extracted:-)

You can grind them down and add them to recipes, mix them into baked goods, or even sprinkle a few nibs on top of desserts. Just keep in mind – they won’t be as strong or flavorful as cacao nibs before extraction. Depending on the nibs and how long they were extracted, you may get more or less chocolate flavor from batch to batch.

What do you do with the cocoa nibs after you have extracted them? With vanilla beans, I reuse to make more, or transfer into sugars, syrups etc.

Hi Mary, you’re welcome! Ugandan beans will work great in this extract, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed :-) Happy Extracting!

Thanks so much for the quick reply! I’m going to get Ugandan beans to round out the taste. I hope they don’t make it too “earthy” lol. Thanks again.

Hi Mary, we’re so glad you enjoyed the videos and that it’s inspired you to try making a chocolate extract :-) If the extract isn’t chocolatey enough after 3 months, you can let the same nibs extract for another 3 months before tasting again. Vanilla definitely compliments the cacao and brings balance and sweetness to this extract!

Hi. I enjoyed the videos. I am considering making chocolate extract. I’m curious about Changing the nibs out. If I don’t like the flavor after 3 months, do I change the nibs or do I keep the same ones and let it go longer? Also, will it be bitter if I don’t put vanilla beans in with the nibs?

Hi Linda, it would be so handy if insta-pots could be used to make extracts but we don’t recommend putting alcohol in pressurized appliances.

If you have one, a Sous Vide can be used to decrease the time it takes for extraction though. You can find out more in our blog post titled ‘The Gingrich’ by copying and pasting the link below into your browser.

https://www.vanillapura.com/blogs/extract-recipes/the-gingrich-sous-vide-method?pos=1&_sid=f031d3b04&ss=r

Please feel free to get in touch with any other questions!

Can I make this extract using a insta pot? I don’t have the patience to make vanilla the old fashioned way any more. Waiting a year. Ack!