Making chocolate covered strawberries?!
Answers: when i melt the chocolate i use to put a tiny amount of butter to make the chocolate more smooth so that when it hardens on the strawberries it woudn't be too hard that it woud crack when bitten into. so as i was making them tonight i put my usual butter in BUT the chocolate ended up clumping together and started turning dry and it was just a disaster. i had to keep tossing it out and starting over. i just ended up melting the chocolate w/ no butter. any idea why this happened? i mean it seriously never happened before...
If any water gets in the chocolate it will sieze. Make sure when you melt it the kettle is absolutely dry as well as your utensils. I actually melt chocolate chips in a plastic bag in the microwave and then cut a small corner off the bag. It is easier just to drizzle the chocolate over the berries. So much simpler and less messy.
try adding water or soemthign
is this was the same type of chocolate u use every time??
check what u changed this time
Crisco i believe its called its like butter sort of and u take a bit and put it in the chocolate before u melt it and make sure to open it before done adn mix it so it wont clump but the crisco will help go to the site they will show some stuff on the tips parts
Well, several things. First, chocolate needs nothing when melting. Second, whole butter has water. Water is the moral enemy of chocolate. Water mixes with the cocoa mass, which is very dry, causing it to swell and lump up. Do not add butter to chocolate for dipping. Also, do not get the chocolate too hot. Too hot for chocolate is 120 degrees. Not very hot to us, but lethal for chocolate. Use good chocolate. Cheap chocolate has lots of parafin (yep, wax) in it making it easy to use. Proper tempering for chocolate is a labor intensive process. All chocolate sold to us is already tempered, but in the melting, it comes out of temper. Improperly tempered chocolate will bloom, that is, it will get the white stuff that looks like, but is not, mold. No real harm to eat, just aesthetics. Also, do not refrigerate or freeze the chocolate after you cover fruit. Serious unhappiness.
You really shouldn't use the butter, I can't imagine why it has always worked for you before...anyway, I have been making chocolate covered strawberries for years and have always used vegetable shortening mixed into the chocolate. It helps the chocolate stick to the strawberries and the strawberries do not become runny as quickly as when you don't use anything with the chocolate. I have left you the recipe I always use, maybe you would like to try it?
Double Dipped Strawberries
-1 quart medium strawberries
-10 ozs vanilla or white baking chips
-2 tablespoons vegetable shortening divided
-8 ozs semi sweet chocolate chips
*Clean strawberries and gently pat dry
*In a double boiler over low heat melt the vanilla chips and 1 tablespoon shortening
*Dip each strawberry until two thirds of the berry is coated and allow excess to drip off
*Place on waxed paper and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until set
*Melt the chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon shortening
*Dip each berry until one third is coated.
*Put back onto waxed paper and put into fridge for another 30 minutes or until set.
****If you don't want both the white and dark chocolate, just skip step one and use only the chocolate chips.
Hope this helps.