Calling All Chefs (or Anyone Who's Cooked Before)

[RicardoObviouso]

I'm trying to make chocolate covered strawberries.

 

i bought a bag of Manjari 64% baking chocolate (thomas haas said it was damn good) and it came in chunks about an 1" long, 1/2" wide and a 1/8" thick.

 

i've searched google for a good metheod of melting this chocolate so i can dip strawberries into it, but they all seem hard to follow.

 

if anyone here has done it before and has a set of decent, easy-to-follow instructions... please post them here. thanks.

[Lauren]

get a pot o' water and boil it. then take a glass bowl and put it over the boiling water without touching the water. put the chocolate in the glass bowl and stir once it starts to melt.

[Muran]

Yup, I was going to say the same thing. But be super super sure that not 1 iota of water gets into that bowl of chocolate, or it'll seize up.

[RicardoObviouso]

hold on.... how will the steam escape from the pot if i put the glass bowl in it?

 

 

tracy, i heard about the water touching the chocolate (thanks for confirmation) but i also heard that the water cant even touch the bottom or sides of the bowl... is this true?

[S.E. Hardy]

it probably won't escape... but that's okay. It's best if the water doesn't touch the bowl, but don't worry about messing up... it'll be okay ;)

[Muran]

From my experience, I don't think that it's too much of a problem, if the bottom of your bowl touches the boiling water a little. I think the worry about the hot water touching the sides of the bowl, is that it might roll down into the chocolate unbeknownst to you...

 

If you don't understand why you're doing the double boiler thing, it's because you don't want to burn the chocolate.

 

Your other, non-water option, is to melt it in the microwave. Just turn the setting down way low and check it every 30 seconds, and stir it.

 

EDIT: And the water should be a gentle roll, not crazy super bubbly, just enough to heat the bottom of the pyrex/microwave safe bowl. Don't really need to worry about steam explosions or anything haha

Edited February 13, 2008 by Muran

[RicardoObviouso]

so its not a massive boil, just a light one? jesus.

 

what are you doing tonight, want to help me make these?

[Muran]

If these are for your girlfriend, no, you do it yourself, son lol

 

Otherwise, go to freaking Rocky Mountain on Robson, and buy them there, geez XD

 

 

It's a "gentle roll" boil or something...just a little over a simmer. Think about it, it just needs to be hot enough to heat a glass surface, to melt chocolate. You could set a blow dryer to high and it would melt chocolate at some point XD

 

It's not rock science. haha

[RicardoObviouso]

fine, i'll fucking do it myself.

 

 

as for buying them... i probably could have, but that kind of takes the romance out of it. i might actually get mr. thomas haas himself to help me. apparently he's all gung-ho about me doing this like its some kind of special feat... either that or he's looking to crack my remy martin louis xiii

Edited February 13, 2008 by mr. smithee

[Muran]

Thomas Haas? Get the Dubys to help you! haha

[soundless_space]

I always microwave chocolate. That way there are no worries about water getting involved.

 

Go in slow increments of like, 20 seconds, stir, another 20 seconds, until it's nice and smooth.

[RicardoObviouso]

i was hoping you'd pipe in, beth.

[soundless_space]

Was I too late with the advice - how'd they turn out? I bet the girl loved them.

[RicardoObviouso]

i microwaved in a glass bowl. turned out awesome.

 

 

and as a test, i dropped some water in the melted chocolate to see what would happen, and nothing happened at all. LIARS!

[bishopx]

Sounds like it worked out for you. I did the same thing, the same way you did, in the microwave Mr. Smithee, worked out jut perfectly