4

I've been to some stores that offer hot chocolate that has been "brewed for 2 hours". I've also come across the following recipe that instructs to let the mixture sit for 12 hours. What does this achieve? What actually happens?

Ingredients:

  • 500g whole milk
  • 100g 35% cream
  • 140g Inaya™ 65%
  • 40g sugar
  • 20g Extra Brute

Method:

Bring the milk to a boil. Pour over the cream. Add the chocolate, sugar and cocoa powder. Let sit for 12 hours. Serve at 60°C.

Improve this question

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

Cacao powder is not very soluble in water, so I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that the extra time allows for the cacao to incorporate better into the liquid.

The recipe includes actual chocolate nibs, but after it's melted into the milk / cream there's no extra flavor infusion by keeping it for a longer time.

12 hours sound like a lot: if you keep the mixture cold, it takes longer to dissolve (but not that long); if you keep it warm there's a risk of spoiling the milk. I can't think of a benefit to let the drink sit for such a long time.

Improve this answer
5
  • 3
    Just noting that the linked recipe in the question is using actual chocolate, not cacao powder or cocoa powder. While molten chocolate does also require some time to mix with milk and cream, it's not like trying to mix plain powder.
    – Athanasius
    Oct 29, 2019 at 16:36
  • From a food / material science standpoint, I don't see any benefit of longer brewing unless there are added spices (cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, star anise...) involved. Especially if you are going to keep it cold to prevent it from spoiling, it doesn't do any difference in terms of dissolution since the coldness reduces Brownian movement - which is the only thing happening there if you just let it sit after boiled.
    – Juliana Karasawa Souza
    Oct 29, 2019 at 17:12
  • @Athanasius actually the recipe has both chocolate and cocoa powder: cacao-barry.com/en-OC/chocolate-couverture-cocoa/dcp-22sp/…
    – Luciano
    Oct 30, 2019 at 9:34
  • Oops. You're right! I just read down to the first chocolatey thing and assumed that was it. Still, I don't think more than several minutes of brewing is going to dissolve the small amount of cocoa powder significantly better, let alone 12 hours.
    – Athanasius
    Oct 31, 2019 at 23:06
  • @Athanasius yes I also only saw it once you mentioned it was not there and I went to check the ingredients again. But I also agree about the time, that's why I mention it.
    – Luciano
    Nov 1, 2019 at 9:02

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.