[inkedchef]

can i use pure hersheys chocolate or do i have to make a ganache?

[chefpeon]

This is what I found on a chocolate fountain website:

The chocolate fountain will operate with most any brand of "coverture" chocolate. Coverture chocolate is a high quality chocolate that contains extra cocoa butter (32-39%). The higher percentage of cocoa butter, combined with the processing, gives the chocolate a creamy mellow flavor and allows the chocolate to flow through the fountain more elegantly.

If I had to thin the chocolate down even more, I'd add Mycryo or some other kind of cocoa butter.

Usually, though, the fountain you use comes with some sort of instruction on what type of chocolate best runs through it. I suppose there are no such instructions with your fountain?

[inkedchef]

All I have is hersheys and no cocoa butter. It was a pop-up BEO so I was not ready. Do you think hersheys will work?

[aguynamedrobert]

If you need to you can always add vegetable oil to the chocolate once it is melted...You can add fat to chocolate but nothing water based...many people just add vegetable oil for doing chocolate fountains...and that, unlike cocoa butter, is something you can find at the grocery store...

Robert
www.chocolateguild.com

[rat]

It is 1 to 1.5 cups of oil to every 3 lbs of chocolate. Chocolate fountains are great unless you have to clean them. :-)

[chefpeon]

Chocolate fountains are great unless you have to clean them. :-)

And....clean up AFTER them! Personally, I hate those things. I would rather just take a bunch of fruit or marshmallows or whatever they have available for dipping, and dip them all myself, and put them on the buffet attractively arranged on large platters. Letting people dip their own stuff is just......wrong. I mean these are the same people who can't clean up after themselves when they use a public restroom.......

[m brown]

I am with you!
I was at an out of doors function and the chocolate fountain was hit with a good breeze, long story short, the band looked delicious!

[rat]

outside fountains aren't that great either especially with swarms of gnats that seem to be attracted to chocolate. We have ther Sephra 48 inch fountain and I get the lucky job of setting it up and breaking it down.
Try one with cheese for a switch.

[chocoman]

We are doing a lot of party favors and were considering buying some chocolate fountains a year or so ago as another way to serve clients and make money. But you guys got it right. The set-up, take down, and cleaning part is what stopped us from doing it.
Also, everybody here is using vegetable oil to thin the chocolate and I personally just don't believe in that. I guess I'm old fashioned. As far as I'm concerned, a "real" chocolate only has cocoa butter!
Now it seems that everybody and his brother has one of these things, and you can even buy them at Costco.
Boy, am I ever glad we didn't get into it.
Chocoman

[Lie]

Cocoa butter is the best solution for you,....
I'm not recomended you at all to used vegetable oil, because it's not same, and will reduce the quality of chocolate,. . .
and don't forget to clean up all the things after that,
because if not clean now it will be worst for next event for chocolate fountain.
we have the bigger chocolate Fountain in my country, 3 m in height. . .
capacity once operate is arround 100-150 kg chocolate.
very busy when it's show up in front of public...
anyway, good luck...

[eds77k5]

i use white chocolate to thin it down, a few paramount crystals, it works ok, cleaning is a pain

[trulys]

Originally Posted by inkedchef

can i use pure hersheys chocolate or do i have to make a ganache?

inkedchef,
I recently purchased a chocolate fountain here cause no one had one and i knew the trend would take off here soon too,but i also knew that i would have to be different than everybody else when the trend did hit and adding oil to my chocolate i feel is sacarelgious. So after a ton of investigating i now bring in a chocolate that does not need oil it's pure belgian so it tastes amazing and the clean-up is very easy except for the big middle pipe. Because it has a very high amount of cocoa butter in it already no need for anything else, just melt and pour and turn on. The linnen supplier told me that she can always tell when it's been my fountain that's been used because the linnens come back full of chocolate like everbody elses but mine washes out with no oil stains afterwards. She said she was going to suggest me to clients who were looking for a fountain she likes the clean up better too. If you need or are interested in it I am starting to supply chocolate to resturants and to retail people who don't need "tons" like we bring in.