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dipping chocolate

post #1 of 12
12/9/07 at 5:35am
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I want to make chocolate dipped marshmallows and am looking for a good dipping chocolate recipe... one that is more liquid than what I get when just melting chocolate chips. What is the story with adding paraffin wax to the recipe?
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post #2 of 12
12/9/07 at 8:39am
I think it was Von Bismark that said something to the effect that both the making of politics and sausage make the stomache turn, but in N.America you can add chocolate to the list.

REAL chocolate is called couveture, French for covering. This is the real deal, but because of the complicated nature of the cocoa butter, it require tempering. The tempering process requires melting the couveture to 45 C, then cool it edown to 27 C, then slowly re-warming it to a working temperature of 32 C.

As cocoa butter require special handling, and as it is very valuable in other areas such as cosmetics and pharmceuticals, many chocolate companies choose to sell the cocoa butter and replace it with another fat when making their chocolate. These fats do not require special handling, but have "weird" flavour, leave a greasy mouth feel in your mouth, and don't have the hard "snap" a good chocolate has. The cheapo choclate companies also add in paraffin for shine and snap. With this information you can now gather that the many of the mainstream N.American Chocolate companies have little repect and lots of contempt for their customers.
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post #3 of 12
12/9/07 at 3:28pm
lol he/she's making dipping chocolate not ganache!!! :roll:
Food may bring us together, but a CAKE makes it a PARTY!!
myspace.com/risquebusinesseroticcakes
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post #4 of 12
12/10/07 at 10:10am
james, there is a big difference with chocolate chips. They are made to hold their chip shape, when you bake them in cookies.

Chocolate chips are therefore a poor choice as a base for covering things where you want them to melt smooth.
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post #5 of 12
12/10/07 at 10:24am
Kinda made me chuckle too,sorry chad.you need to look for a chocolate from a. Specialty store or online(even easier)that says coating or glaze chocolate usters imports sells some good chocolate.
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post #6 of 12
12/16/07 at 7:22pm
I was told to add a about a teaspoon to a tablespoon of shortening such as Crisco depending on the amount of chocolate chips to make a dipping chocolate. Is this wrong to do? I do it to dip anything from cookies to strawberries in. It turns out great as far as consistency and does not affect the taste of the chocolate.
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post #7 of 12
12/16/07 at 8:46pm
I just assumed that they were looking for a general chocolate sauce, not a specific "dipping chocolate".
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post #8 of 12
12/17/07 at 10:09am
AAAh...I see! :lol:

You came at it as a "culinarian" I came at it as a "confectioner"...:roll:
Food may bring us together, but a CAKE makes it a PARTY!!
myspace.com/risquebusinesseroticcakes
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post #9 of 12
12/21/07 at 5:08pm
You can buy Scharffenberger chocolate in most grocery store aisles. It's not my favorite chocolate, but it is actual couverture and will have a nice consistency for dipping. But, as other have said, real chocolate requires tempering, so you have to decide if you want to deal with that. If you chop the chocolate then heat it carefully in the microwave, you can raise it to working temperature (90 degrees F) without it losing temper. Start with a minute, then use shorter and shorter intervals (30 seconds, 20 seconds, 10 etc) until about 80% of the chocolate is melted. Stir to melt the rest, heating for 5 seconds or less at a time if you have any really temperamental chunks. It's better to have a few chunks left in the bowl and just scoop them out than to let it get too hot trying to get the last few out.
Tammy's Tastings
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post #10 of 12
12/21/07 at 6:30pm
i saw some at safeway yesterday.. cheaper than at my sur la table!!! i used it today to dip biscotti. i chopped 2 blocks of the portioned bar and melted over a double boiler. then i chopped another block to "seed" the chocolate. it looks to be tempered!
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post #11 of 12
12/22/07 at 8:55am
you cannot temper chocolate by "looking" at it!!!! you must stir it till it achieves and maintains the right temperature!!

But, I hope it worked for you, since I know what a pain it is to have to re do all your work!
Food may bring us together, but a CAKE makes it a PARTY!!
myspace.com/risquebusinesseroticcakes
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post #12 of 12
10/16/09 at 10:20am
I need some advice. I also have the same problem. What is the best way to prepare chocolate for dipping things in. Should I just use straight melted chocolate/bakers chocolate or should I melt it with wax, or butter, etc. I'm looking to dip cheesecake balls in chocolate, but not sure how is best to prepare the chocolate.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks...
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