at Tue, 17 Jan 2006 11:55:24 GMT in <fimps1t56gv5tkh0ff0e1noh3miv0h6pbs@
4ax.com>, (John Caldeira) wrote :

>On Tue, 17 Jan 2006 01:08:39 GMT, "Janet Puistonen"
> wrote:
>> <stuff snipped>
>>I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "dipping" chocolate.
>
>Janet, by dipping chocolate I mean chocolate that is formulated to be
>especially suitable for making chocolate-dipping candies. The link
>that Art kindly provided lists several of them apprxoimately half way
>down their order page:

Don't get hung up over terminology, in the sense of the exact wording used
to describe it. It would be nice if you were a little more clear about what
it is you want. Here's how it works.

For the making chocolate covered candies, the key point is that you need
chocolate whose viscosity is sufficiently low when melted to be fully
fluid. That's the overriding criterion. There are 2 ways to do this.

If you want pure chocolate, that is, chocolate whose only fat is cocoa
butter, what you'd want is what's often called "couverture". The key point
is that you want about 40% cocoa butter or more. Couverture chocolate is a
lot easier to find than you think, however, because a great many, indeed,
most, eating chocolate bars are couverture grade. However, the disadvantage
is that it needs to be tempered. More on that below.

If, OTOH, you don't have the time or the inclination to temper the
chocolate, then chocolate manufacturers offer what is typically called
"compound coating". Compound coating has other fats added besides cocoa
butter, usually palm kernel oil. However, the consensus is that these fats
adversely affect the flavour and the texture. It's also worth noting that,
because of this effect, compound coating is almost never made with premium-
grade beans to begin with, further lessening its potential to have
excellent flavour. The other factor with compound coating is that it's
cheap relative to couverture-grade chocolate.

The "dipping chocolate" listed using that exact terminology on Gourmail's
Web site is definitely compound coating. So that's what you want to buy if
you want either lowest cost or not to have to deal with tempering.

If, OTOH, you're more interested in best possible taste, then you should
steer away from those formulations. Callebaut's 6040 is a good general-
purpose formulation I see listed on that site that works well.

However, since you mentioned that 11 lb will "last me a while", perhaps
Chocosphere is a better bet because they offer chocolate in smaller, more
convenient formats. On the whole, in any case, you can't beat Chocosphere
for selection, ease of ordering, and shipping policies.

On Chocosphere there is a vast array of different couverture-grade
chocolates that would be suitable. Which you choose largely depends on your
budget and preferences. At the high end, the Michel Cluizel line can be had
in 1 kg bags, a nice convenient size, and the quality is superb throughout
the line. You can use it fearlessly for coating as long as you temper.
Amedei also has good chocolate - Chuao in particular is awe-inspiring - but
at even higher prices. They also have Callebaut for the more economically
minded.

However, IMHO probably the best choice in terms of price and quality is
Guittard. L'Harmonie is a superb blended chocolate, and Coucher du Soleil
isn't far behind. The varietal chocolates they have are wonderful, although
much more distinctive and so you have to be careful what you're dipping.
For instance, the Colombian is excellent if your flavours were mild fruits
like strawberries, or floral essences, but a poor match for strong spices
like cinnamon. By contrast the Madagascar would work great with the
cinnamon but would be jarring with something like coffee. The Gourmet
Bittersweet is awe-inspiring, and easy to work with - one of the best
chocolates to start dipping with - although again you face the mountain
o'chocolate problem in that it comes in 10-lb blocs. Be aware that many
stores stock it in bulk bins as broken chunks, so you might be able to find
it locally. Finally, if you prefer to avoid the tempering problems and are
OK with diminished flavour Guittard also offers compound coating in the
Special A'Peels line.

Tempering: Pure cocoa butter chocolate needs to be tempered, which is
getting the fat into the proper crystalline state. There are 3 ways this is
commonly done. The classic way is to melt the chocolate, pour about half
out onto a marble slab, spade it around for a while on the slab using a
palette knife or metal spatula until it just begins to solidify, then
scrape the whole mass back into the melted chocolate, stirring until you
have a fluid mass again. Then you can dip.

The second method - so-called "seeding" begins by reserving a bit of
unmelted chocolate as small pieces. Then melt the rest of the chocolate,
allow it to cool, then add your seed piece. Stir as usual and then use.

Finally, you can buy expensive tempering machines that will do the job
automatically, although for ones that are worthwhile it's big bucks indeed.

The other investment that's cheap and easy is a chocolate tempering
thermometer, a high-sensitivity thermometer graduated over the range of 40-
130 F/5-55 C. Then you can develop good tempering profiles. When you
initially melt the chocolate, you're aiming for a range of 115-125F 45-50C.
Then the amount that, for instance, you cool on the slab should be dropped
to 83-85F/28-29C. When you reincorporate it, you want to get around 86-
88F/30-31C. Using the seeding method, the key is to get the melted mass
down to about 88F/31C before stirring in the little bits.

So that's the complete picture. Hopefully this helps you make good
decisions.





--
Alex Rast

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