Adding Vanilla to Chocolate

[concordal]

I wanted to add vanilla to melted chocolate to use as a dip for biscotti.  After adding some to the chocolate, the mixture stiffened up.

 

The vanilla was from Costco; I checked the contents list on the bottle and confirmed that water was one of the ingredients. That explained it.  Happily, it didn’t spoil things completely - instead of dipping, I used a pastry brush to 'paint' the mixture onto the bottom of the biscott.  (Whew.)

 

Is there another way to add vanilla to chocolate? 

[Lisa Shock]

You can scrape seeds from beans into it directly, and there are oil-based flavors designed for this purpose (make sure that there isn't any alcohol, since the alcohol itself often contains water), as well as powders. It's an American 'thing' to mix the two, you won't find much from European producers.

Edited June 20, 2016 by Lisa Shock
clarification (log)

[Alex]

Add it to the chocolate before you start to melt it. (I'm not a pastry expert by any means, so my opinion might not mean much, but I've always started my liquids and chocolate together, usually in an improvised double boiler, and it's always worked out just fine.)

[concordal]

Lisa and Alex, many thanks for the suggestions,

[JohnT]

I would really follow Lisa Shock's suggestion and use vanilla oil or the scraped seeds from a pod. Vanilla does not like too much heat and thus is always added during the cooling stage in production. I must admit that it must be an American "thing" to both add vanilla to chocolate or to coat biscotti with chocolate - biscotti is a dipping biscuit and the flavours in the biscuit are enhanced when dipped into bit of fortified sweet wine or even coffee. Coating with chocolate is not the norm. This said, there is no harm in experimenting!

[tikidoc]

46 minutes ago, JohnT said:

I must admit that it must be an American "thing" to both add vanilla to chocolate or to coat biscotti with chocolate - biscotti is a dipping biscuit and the flavours in the biscuit are enhanced when dipped into bit of fortified sweet wine or even coffee. Coating with chocolate is not the norm. This said, there is no harm in experimenting!

In the US, biscotti is often sold dipped in chocolate. Not traditional, but quite common here, especially at coffee shops. 

 

[Darienne]

Thank you, Concordal.  Went to the cupboard and sure enough, Kirkland Pure Vanilla Extract with water listed as an ingredient.  (Yes, I trusted your word...I just had to see it for myself.)  A second bottle of pure vanilla extract from Singing Dog  (loved the name because our studio is Singing Dogs Studio) also contained water.  Who knew?  Who checked ingredients on pure vanilla extract I ask?  Well, now we know.

 

[Lisa Shock]

Where there's alcohol there's generally water. Even in lab settings, very little pure alcohol gets used.

[concordal]

Very old thread, but solved my own problem and this may help someone else.  

 

I found some Vanilla powder (eg Amazon).  It contains mo water so there is no risk of the chocolate seizing.   Hope this is helfulp