Colored Cocoa Butter: The Topic

[Racing_Chocs]

The master for my racing helmet silicone mould is almost complete (see attached) but I'm still struggling to find any information on how to effectively polish silicone moulds. 

 

I realise that most all professionals use polycarb, but if anyone does have any advice or suggestions of how to achieve this, it would be appreciated.

matthew 

[Bentley]

I want to start working on mixing my own colored cocoa butters, but not sure where to start.  Do you just buy the primary color powders and mix from there or are you working with a wider variety of pigments?  What is the best resource to learn how to create different shades?  For example, if I have a sample color that I want to match, how would I go about figuring out which pigments to use and how much of each?  Are there formulaic guides or is it all just trial and error and experience?

[keychris]

I saw a cocoa butter colouring pack at the school I go to a few years ago, with a chart with about a squillion colours that it told you how to make, but the price was astronomical. I can't remember the brand, but such a thing does exist. My own experience is I mix up the colours I can get as powders (10% powder / 90% cocoa butter) then make the rest up as best I can from those with a very much "that'll do" attitude to it.

[Avachocolate]

3 hours ago, keychris said:

I saw a cocoa butter colouring pack at the school I go to a few years ago, with a chart with about a squillion colours that it told you how to make, but the price was astronomical. I can't remember the brand, but such a thing does exist. My own experience is I mix up the colours I can get as powders (10% powder / 90% cocoa butter) then make the rest up as best I can from those with a very much "that'll do" attitude to it.

Maybe "IBC Power Flowers" would fit that description ? Many different colors with supplied mixing charts...quite expensive from what I remember...but may be worth checking out if you want some exact coloring formulas...

[gfron1]

I suggest buying a Pantene color guide...or hell, you could just go get a paint guide at the home improvement store. You have to understand the very basics of primary colors plus the use of black and white to darken/lighten/pastel.  For percentages @keychrisis right on the mark although I would say a range of 5-10% or even 15% in some cases. Andrey Dubovic's class is covering this quite a bit and all/most of the colors you're seeing those of us in the class are making ourselves according to his ratios. Here is a black currant/purple that I made this morning. Could have used a bit more red to get it to where I wanted it, but still pretty.

[Jim D.]

Of the three eGullet members taking the Dubovik course, I seem to be the dissenting one on the subject of mixing colored cocoa butter from scratch. Not knowing what the classes were going to require in detail before they started, I got some basic powders from Chef Rubber. For the translucent colors Dubovik specifies, I did indeed mix my own, even though I already have a zillion bottles of mixed Chef Rubber colors, because at that point I was not sure how else to make translucent colors except to make them myself. I made those two plus a couple of others and was not pleased with any of them (no doubt user error, I freely admit). Deciding how translucent to make them is quite difficult, as is knowing how much powder to add for an opaque color. It's really trial and error because different brands (and even different colors) behave differently. I made a nice medium green (Chef Rubber's tends to be quite dark), but although it looked opaque when tested, it wasn't, and it remained quite fluid compared to the CR ones. CR does not list any ingredients other than cocoa butter and coloring (at least one other U.S. brand does include some kind of starch or something similar), but I never achieved that thicker consistency. I have noticed in the videos that when Dubovik spreads a little cocoa butter on granite to test it for temper, even the opaque colors sometimes look considerably closer to translucent than similar CR colors do.

 

So I have now decided that I will just use the CR bottles I have on hand and mix colors as needed. For the aforementioned black currant color, I started with CR teal and added red until it looked black currant-ish.  For a dark gray supposed to be made with black luster dust (which I did not know to purchase before the course began), I used CR silver and added some black to darken it, so I got the color and the sparkle as well. I find the mess of mixing cocoa butter not as bad as I anticipated (the straining of it is decidedly a pain), but there is definitely a mess compared with melting the contents of a bottle and pouring it out. I am not sure of the price comparison, but there does not seem to be a huge difference. I now think I could make translucent colors by simply adding plain cocoa butter to a CR bottle but have not had occasion to test that.

[keychris]

11 hours ago, Avachocolate said:

Maybe "IBC Power Flowers" would fit that description ? Many different colors with supplied mixing charts...quite expensive from what I remember...but may be worth checking out if you want some exact coloring formulas...

 

I knew someone on here would know what I was talking about, that's exactly what I was shown

[Tri2Cook]

1 hour ago, keychris said:

 

I knew someone on here would know what I was talking about, that's exactly what I was shown

I was pretty excited about those until I found they were incredibly difficult to find a source for that would ship to where I live and then, having finally found that, found out how expensive they are. The excitement was quickly diminished. I still like the idea of them though.

[Kerry Beal]

1 hour ago, Tri2Cook said:

I was pretty excited about those until I found they were incredibly difficult to find a source for that would ship to where I live and then, having finally found that, found out how expensive they are. The excitement was quickly diminished. I still like the idea of them though.

They are expensive - but they make getting just the right colour quite easy.

[david.upchurch]

Hello All,

I am researching colorants for cacao butter with an eye toward  'natural' vegetal derived colorants. 

My local packaging inspector ( California ) has required me to list ALL FDA approved artificial dyes and pigments, FD&C, Lakes, on my labels.  These are equivalent to EU approved artificial colors as E102 to E143, as I understand it. 

Is anyone else tackling this issue?  Per labeling, this is a substantial amount of information as one multi-hued collection can have 6+ colors.  Other chocolatiers I have noticed use blanket statements such as 'FDA approved colors' or 'Cocoa Butter with Colors'. 

I am hearing hints that the EU may impose stricter regulations on artificial colors.  Some of these, Lakes for instance, seem very dodgy as they are based on metal (Aluminum) salts to disperse the dyes. 

 

Pur is one company that I have found that produces colorants from natural sources on an industrial scale.  Their cacao butters include other additives so I am really interested in how well they spray and perform.  Anyone have experience using these?

Shelf life, color fastness, flavors in the colorants, all these are points of interest. 

Thank very much.

[pastrygirl]

I've done the blanket statement thing.  Does this inspector work for the FDA, CA dept of Ag, or just in the packaging industry?

 

I suppose you don't have to list each color separately but could consolidate as "colored cacao butter (cacao butter, red 40, blue 1, blue 2, yellow 6, and/or titanium dioxide)" 

[david.upchurch]

The inspector is with CA Health Dept and approves my labeling and methods.  Good thought on the blanket statement, there are 7 Dyes and assorted Lakes and titanium dioxide, so I could make a generic statement including all of that.  That does seem at odds with high quality direct-trade chocolate and the ethos we hope to uphold. 

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[gfron1]

FWIW you're already targeting a small market, and within the chocolatier community we don't hear much concern about additiives, so it is possible that the niche or issue that you're putting effort into may not have payout in the end. The CW among chefs is that the trace amounts that are used in a product that is consumed as a luxury not a daily food is nominal and therefore insignificant. Now folks, don't yell at me, I'm just sharing what I hear. I would be all for a more natural product, and of course there are more applications than high end bonbons, but that's my two cents.

 

BTW, @Kerry Beal has shared some info on additives to cocoa butters recently that I didn't know - things added not for color but other purposes. I'll let her share.

[Jim D.]

You might want to check the existing thread on natural colored cocoa butter.

[pastrygirl]

2 hours ago, gfron1 said:

The CW among chefs is that the trace amounts that are used in a product that is consumed as a luxury not a daily food is nominal and therefore insignificant.

 

I totally agree, but OP is in CA, where they've determined that pretty much everything may cause cancer - aren't they putting warning labels on coffee now? 

 

Also, this is where Valrhona's Inspirations could come in handy.  (Or similar concoctions of CB and freeze dried fruit powder.) Between white, blond, passion fruit, and strawberry, you could get a decently colorful box.  Even throw in Callebaut's Ruby if you must have pink 😂

Edited July 11, 2018 by pastrygirl (log)

[Tri2Cook]

14 hours ago, david.upchurch said:

That does seem at odds with high quality direct-trade chocolate and the ethos we hope to uphold.

Then why not just forego the colored cocoa butters altogether? Just do chocolate shells. Maybe some painting and splattering with contrasting colors of chocolate, maybe even some airbrushing with chocolate thinned with cocoa butter. Combine chocolates for different shades in the spectrum. The 50 Shades of Brown collection.  I know that sounds odd in today's world of brightly colored chocolates but it's something I've been giving semi-serious consideration.

[pastrygirl]

6 hours ago, Tri2Cook said:

Then why not just forego the colored cocoa butters altogether? Just do chocolate shells. Maybe some painting and splattering with contrasting colors of chocolate, maybe even some airbrushing with chocolate thinned with cocoa butter. Combine chocolates for different shades in the spectrum. The 50 Shades of Brown collection.  I know that sounds odd in today's world of brightly colored chocolates but it's something I've been giving semi-serious consideration.

 

You know, 10 or so years ago when I first started making molded bonbons I thought brown was just fine and I scoffed at colored CB.  Then I got some colors and everything had to have at least one, now everyone's doing 3 colors with tape and airbrush.  Maybe there's something to be said for keeping it simple, but restraint can be hard.  Once I get out the box of finger-paints I want to use all the colors!

[Tri2Cook]

8 hours ago, pastrygirl said:

 

You know, 10 or so years ago when I first started making molded bonbons I thought brown was just fine and I scoffed at colored CB.  Then I got some colors and everything had to have at least one, now everyone's doing 3 colors with tape and airbrush.  Maybe there's something to be said for keeping it simple, but restraint can be hard.  Once I get out the box of finger-paints I want to use all the colors!

I understand that. The difference is, you're not saying in regards to having to list what you're using on your labeling "That does seem at odds with high quality direct-trade chocolate and the ethos we hope to uphold." If having to let people know what's in the box is at odds with your ethos then it seems like that same ethos would want you to not put anything in the box you'd not feel good about listing. Unless I misunderstood and he was saying that a blanket listing of the ingredients used without listing out each one individually for each chocolate would violate that ethos. In which case, I don't get it because you'd still be letting them know everything they'll be eating with the blanket statement.

[pastrygirl]

4 hours ago, Tri2Cook said:

I understand that. The difference is, you're not saying in regards to having to list what you're using on your labeling "That does seem at odds with high quality direct-trade chocolate and the ethos we hope to uphold." If having to let people know what's in the box is at odds with your ethos then it seems like that same ethos would want you to not put anything in the box you'd not feel good about listing. Unless I misunderstood and he was saying that a blanket listing of the ingredients used without listing out each one individually for each chocolate would violate that ethos. In which case, I don't get it because you'd still be letting them know everything they'll be eating with the blanket statement.

 

I agree with that ethos too, but have been making exceptions for CB colors. Like those restaurants who say ‘we buy organic when possible’ ... I use fair trade chocolate, no corn syrup in anything, and grind my own hazelnut paste instead of buying the ones with hydrogenated oils. But colorful Easter eggs and multicolor bonbons get so many positive reactions. They are fun to do and I accept mortality so don't personally worry about a few micrograms of titanium dioxide. My problem with adding colorants to labeling is that there’s never enough space!  I appreciate this discussion because maybe there is a better way. Last winter I made sure to order the approved-as edible luster dust. Will I now throw out all my chef rubber colors?  Probably not, but OP has a good point. 

 

edited to add:  also, the colored pieces are a small minority of what I sell so that's another reason why I don't worry more about being 100% pure and natural.  Cocoa-dusted truffles and solid bars are my main products, colorful stuff is only at big holidays.

Edited July 12, 2018 by pastrygirl (log)

[Tri2Cook]

The problem was at my end. I think I misunderstood where he was going with his question. I thought he was looking for a way to use those things without it showing up on what he wanted to be a clean and natural ingredient list. I read his original post again and now realize that he's actually looking for an alternative color source that doesn't use those things so they don't have to be on the label at all. So basically just ignore what I previously said and things will be back on track. 

[pastrygirl]

One chocolatier not using a lot of color is Milla in LA:  https://www.instagram.com/millachocolates/

 

Looks like they use a lot of gold dust and the occasional bit of black CB but otherwise minimal decoration.  I appreciate their bucking the trend  

[Jim D.]

54 minutes ago, pastrygirl said:

One chocolatier not using a lot of color is Milla in LA:  https://www.instagram.com/millachocolates/

 

Looks like they use a lot of gold dust and the occasional bit of black CB but otherwise minimal decoration.  I appreciate their bucking the trend  

Yes, a huge amount of gold dust--and some truly beautiful packaging.

[pastrygirl]

Regarding the Pur colors mentioned above https://colorblendcreations.com/artisan-colored-cocoa-butter  the colors don't look awesome, and they contain soy.  Which is worse, red #40 or soy lecithin?  There will be people who don't want the dye but also people who don't want the soy, and you also have to label for soy since it is one of the top 8 food allergens.  Chef Rubber has a natural line, organic & kosher.  The colors are also not as bright, but that's what you're going to get with all natural.   https://shop.chefrubber.com/products/18/Natural-Cocoa-Butter/

[Kerry Beal]

22 hours ago, pastrygirl said:

One chocolatier not using a lot of color is Milla in LA:  https://www.instagram.com/millachocolates/

 

Looks like they use a lot of gold dust and the occasional bit of black CB but otherwise minimal decoration.  I appreciate their bucking the trend  

Her stuff looks so classy!

[Tri2Cook]

1 hour ago, Kerry Beal said:

Her stuff looks so classy!

I like the way she does those bar inclusions so they show through on the front in some areas.