anaya wrote: “i have found that different batches do have slight differences in texture and flavors. Is the lack of lecithin and vanilla responsible for this changes?”
Anaya – are you actually referring to different batches (i.e. different dates of production), or different lines (i.e. Plantations 75%, 90%, and 100%)?
I only have samples from a 2005 batch to go by, but looking at the ingredients listed in the reviews on this site, the ingredients haven’t actually changed between batches (not from 2004 to 2005, anyway). That is, in 2004 and 2005, the ingredients were listed as follows:
75% – Pure cocoa mass, cane sugar, cocoa butter, no lecithin, no vanilla flavor
90% – Pure cocoa mass, cane sugar, no added cocoa butter, no lecithin, no vanilla flavor
100% – Pure cocoa mass, no added cocoa butter, no lecithin, no vanilla flavor.
It seems unlikely to me that a total absence of one or more ingredients (namely lecithin and vanilla) across two batches and an entire product range could account for differences in texture and flavour between those products.
The accepted way to get around an absence of lecithin in chocolate is to add extra cocoa butter. Hence, given that the 90% and 100% bars have no lecithin and no added cocoa butter, this could account for a noticeable difference in texture between those bars and the 75% bar.
Sam
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