Now, if you ask me, there is absolutely no substitute for real... 100% chocolate. Velvety smooth... rich... chocolate. Candy melts/ "confectionary coating" chips might be cute... and used in small amounts for color- totally useful for their purpose, but not good for using as a dipping or coating medium, well, not for professional tasting results they aren't. Now bark.... don't get me started on bark. Just the words (taken from the package) chocolate "flavored" coating... is more than I need to steer clear from that one. Ick... what is it made of? Usually unpronounceable chemicals and artificial flavorings- cocoa powder and oil maybe with a little cocoa butter thrown in for good measure- but not always :) That's the closest it will ever get to being chocolate... it's a sad imposter for the real thing that is for sure.
Now there are many different schools of thought on which chocolate is the best... Swiss, American, all types of couveture (fancy french word for covering ;)) chocolate including Mercken and Callebaut dipping wafers/ compound chocolate (which is in fact real chocolate, just tempered for you... and has cocoa butter added, whether you choose to pay the price for not tempering it yourself is up to you :)) or many of the other chocolates that have invaded the market. Most chocolate- block, chips, whatever, you have to temper yourself, however, and if you have the time and patience... that is fine- you can also buy already tempered wafers that usually include cocoa butter added for stability.
Personally, especially having grown up in California, and close to the Bay Area, Ghiradelli chocolate has always had a special place in my heart. Smooth, delicious, and not too.... well for lack of a better word, "milky" is the best way to describe it. Some swiss chocolate, if you take a bite and close your eyes, and let it melt slowly you can taste an almost milky afterflavor. Not sure how else to say it! Personally, I don't like this too much. Guittard chocolate is also one that has this afterflavor. It's not bad, mind you, it's delicious- I just don't use the milk chocolate in my candies. Dark chocolate is a whole other animal. So many choices... and not one I have found has been a let down so far.
For my chocolate, because I cannot afford to use the high end Mercken and other such chocolates (I haven't tasted them before either... so I can't vouch for whether I would replace my current choices for it) I always use a mixture of Ghiradelli (milk and semi sweet) Guittard (dark), Nestle's (milk and dark) and Hersheys (milk and dark) whatever I have on hand at the time. When a particular brand goes on sale, I will buy a bunch, then when it comes time to make some, I always have at least a few of the brands available - so I don't use all of the brands together, I just mix what I have. I do have "recipes" if you will so I get a pretty consistent flavor no matter what brand I am using, because believe it or not, they vary fairly widely in flavor and texture. Also, when dipping/ covering candies etc, instead of straight milk chocolate, I use a mixture of the dark and milk chocolates to bring out the best in both. Milk for the ultra smooth richness, and the dark for the intensity and firmer bite. I also add cocoa butter solids, a white, pretty hard substance. A lot
harder than I expected it to be especially given what it is- the fat
that is removed from the cocoa bean when making chocolate. I use it for
added flavor, smoothness, and better bite. Cocoa butter, in my opinion,
is one of the best ways to get that perfect chocolate snap. So far, I think I have come up with a good thing. And it is probably a lot more thought and work than really needs to
be... but hey... I love chocolate. And when making chocolates, I want
people to feel that love :)
As for tempering... there are many ways to do this, all of which are complicated :) Some people swear by melting it over a double boiler. You can Google chocolate tempering techniques- it will give you a wide variety of ways to do it. But a trick I learned from watching a chocolatier on Food Network (can't remember any names... just the thick French accent- and not Jacques Torres) is warming up the chocolate and cocoa butter, slowly in the microwave, at 1 minute intervals, (on 30 to 50 percent power...) until it gets very liquid and it simply glistens... depending on the amount of chocolate, this could take a while :). But you will know when it happens... it goes from a smooth, dullish, kind of thick mixture when it is about 90 degrees or so, to a glistening, smooth flowing river of deliciousness. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water ;) There are a lot of people who do, but I have never used a thermometer, ( I have heard people use a regular thermometer that is used for taking body temperature- the glass "old school" ones... brand new of course :) I am a little nervous about this because I am afraid of breaking the mercury... but it's worth a try I suppose.. if you can find them anymore that is!!! ) It is very warm to the touch at this point. I would say probably in the realm of 115-120... From here, I add a little of the "seed" chocolate, chopped (which is the chocolate you originally used to melt - you leave out about 10% of the chocolate you chop to use as the seed). When you stir this into the hot chocolate, it brings it down to temperature, (proper dipping temperature is said to be about 90 degrees..) but seeding also helps aid in crystallization, which also helps you get that delicious snap :). Stir it in until it melts (no need to heat it, the heat of the chocolate will do it- which is the point of the exercise!) and begin!!!
Now I will not profess myself to be a chocolate master by any stretch of the imagination... I just wanted to share some tips with those of you curious about maybe doing some of your own. Honestly, this is the purest form of stress relief for me. Something about the smooth texture and delicious smell of melted chocolate, and making yummy treats from said chocolate :) that just quite literally melts all my cares away ( to steal a cliche :)). Since I will be making some chocolates over the next few days, I will be sharing some photos and recipes with you very soon!!! Hope you take some time to try it! Let me know how it goes!!! :) And please, if you have any tips or experiences you would like to share, I would love to hear from you!!! :) Thanks!
Have a most wonderful rest of your Tuesday!
Sweet Dreamz to you!!! :)
Renee :D
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