Dipping/Coating Chocolate

[KyleW]

I'm looking for a dipping chocolate to coat cookies. I started with 6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate which I melted in a double boiler. I stirred 2 Tbs Crisco into the chocolate and stirred until it was smooth. I dipped the cookies in the chocolate and put tehm dipped side down onto parchement paper. I put the dipped cookies into the fridge to allow the chocolate to set. It worked nicely but I am concerned about what will happen to the chocolate when it returns to room temp. Does anyone have a sloution the will allow me to di and have the chocolate be stable at room temp?
Thanks!

[miahoyhoy]

I'm not a pastry chef but I do like chocolate.

I just temper the chocolate and let cool at room temp.
Temper by melting say about 1 pound of choco over a double boiler slowly (keep the temp below 104), then I add about 1/4 pound of chopped choco to the melted and stir until melted again. If it is a little stiff I gently warm it up again.

I've done this so much I do it by site rather than temp. Do a google search or check out a chocolate book at the library and use a thermometer to get it right for a while.

Bye,
Jon

[W.DeBord]

Shelf stable there's only 2 ways, temper your couveture or use coating chocolate.

But it all depends upon your needs, can you live with less then perfect? I use non-tempered chocolate to dip in, chill in the cooler to set, then serve at room temp. As long as you store your dipped items in the cooler or freezer well wrapped it will last along time. But once it is at room temp. you'll only have the day (anywhere from 2 to 10 hours) before it dulls or blooms. The bigger the temp. difference is between cooler and room the shorter the nice keeping time frame is. It's helpful to use two tones to distract from the dullness. Like dip in dark choc. and then drizzle over white choc..

I only use shortening to thin down really thick chocolate.....like if you used chocolate chips as your coating chocolate. Otherwise just plain choc. works fine.

[W.DeBord]

Also, 2 tbsp to 6 oz.choc. is a bit heavy. I'd use 2 tbsp. to a whole bag of chips, so it's about double the choc. to the shortening you used.

[KyleW]

Thanks for the info. WHat I'm trying to do is come up with a chocolate that is dip-able and then ship-able. Is there such a thing? I didn't know trere was such athing as dipping chocolate. Would it be stable enough to coat and ship? THanks!

[momoreg]

It also goes under the name of chocolate glaze or non-tempering chocolate. Some are better than others. I prefer Carma, but it's still nothing like couverture.

[m brown]

Kyle,
I use a 2:1 chococlate to shortening (butter and sweetex) for my dipped items.



could anyone share a formula for chocolate glaze. I am looking for a glaze for cakes that stays shiny after setting and cooling.
I heard of one made with cocoa and gelatin but nothing spacific. It was easier when I worked in the restaurant and the cake could be glazed with ganach and sent out just set and with a beautiful sheen.
Thanks.

[angrychef]

I've used a mixture of 1/2 couverture 1/2 coating choc. to dip biscotti and cookies. Callebaut makes a very decent tasting non-temp. coating chocolate.

[KyleW]

All this cool info! I've never heard of couverture but it seems like it has a really high cocoa butter content. Is this what I was trying to emulate when I blended in the Crisco?

AC- It's coated biscotti that are my target.

[thebighat]

Get a good thermometer and learn how to temper chocolate. It's not at all hard. A good explanation of it is found in The Art of The Cake by Healy and Bugat. Coating chocolates by and large aren't that wonderful to eat.

[momoreg]

Kyle,
Couverture is REAL chocolate. It needs to be tempered. The only reason NOT to use it is money or time. Coating choc. doesn't taste nearly as good.

[KyleW]

I looked up tempering in In the Sweet Kitchen. It doesn't seem so scary. Can I use a regular instant read themometer?

[momoreg]

yep.

[KyleW]

So let's see if I got this right.

I melt the chocolate and heat it to 115º-120º, cool it to 80º and then warm it to 88º-90º?

Regarding couverture, do Callebaut, Valrhona etc all make a version of this? Is there any taste sacrifice v. using regular chocolate?

[thebighat]

No taste sacrifice at all as couverture is usually high quality stuff. It's thinner when melted and makes a more delicate coating, that's all. And yes, those numbers are essentially correct and should work for a dark chocolate. I find it's key to stir the chocolate well after you bring the temp back up. Look very carefully beforehand and you can almost see errant streaks of fat crystals throughout the chocolate. Had an instructor who called it purple haze.