CHOCOLATE DIPPED STRAWBERRIES

The next time that you have some fresh strawberries have a bit of fun.

Buy some white and milk chocolate for melting.

Melt them into 2 separate bowls. Dip your strawberries about 2/3 of the way down into the white chocolate, then place onto a piece of wax paper and let sit in a cool place until firm.

Now take your strawberry and dip into the milk chocolate about 1/3 way down.

These make a very festive and unique looking fruit.

CRYSTALLIZED SUGAR?

You are making candy and when you pull the sugar mixture off the stove you notice that little crystals have formed in it.

To help prevent this from happening, heat the sugar in a non-reactive pan (Steel, Aluminum or Glass), over low heat without stirring it.

Watch carefully until all of the sugar is dissolved.

If you see some sugar that is still stuck to the sides of the pan, simply place a lid on the pan for a few more minutes.

As the mixture continues to cook steam will build up inside the pan dissolving the sugar.

MELTING CHOCOLATE

There are several methods for melting chocolate. Each one is good in it’s own, and it is just up to you to decide which method that you would like to use.

Stove Top (Good) – Place a small saucepan over low heat on the stove. Measure the desired amount of chocolate into the saucepan. Using a spatula slowly stir the chocolate constantly. It should begin melting after 3 minutes or so. Once about 80% of the chocolate has melted, remove the pan from the heat. Continue to stir until all of the lumps are gone.

Microwave (better) – Melting chocolate in the microwave is a bit tricky. Depending on the wattage of your oven, this can spell disaster if you are not careful. Measure the desired amount of chocolate into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir the chocolate and place back in the microwave oven. Cook for 10 seconds then stir again. Repeat this process until the chocolate is almost completely melted, you will still see some chunks floating around. Continue to stir until all of the lumps have melted. DO NOT CONTINUE TO COOK until all of the lumps have melted, they will melt on their own once about 90% of the chocolate is melted.

Double Boiler (Best) – Place the bottom double boiler over medium heat. Fill the bottom pan with water and place the top pan in place. Measure the desired amount of chocolate into the top pan. Stir occasionally until all of the chocolate has melted

HIGH ALTITUDE CANDY MAKING

High altitude cooking can be very entertaining if you have recently moved into a high altitude area or you are unfamiliar with cooking at high altitudes. For the purpose of these hints, high altitude is considered anything over 1,000 feet above sea level. Although there is no magic equation these tips might help you out if you are unable to get good results from your recipes.

If you are cooking candies, you can decrease the cooking temperature in the recipe by 2º for each 1,000 feet of elevation. The candies concentrate much faster at higher altitudes, therefore lower temperatures and shorter cooking times are required.

WHAT HAPPENED TO MY CHOCOLATE?

You just pulled out your chocolate to bake with it and ewwww...... It looks nasty with a white film all over it! Is it still usable?

If chocolate gets wet or damp, it will create a white “film” over it.

If you have some chocolate that this happened to it is not really pretty to use in most recipes.

You can however melt the chocolate for frostings or other recipes and it will still work just fine.

To make sure that this does not happen again, make sure that you store it in a tightly sealed container in a cool dry location.

MELTING CHOCOLATE

To quickly melt chocolate, place the chocolate chips or chocolate melts into a microwave-proof bowl.

Place the bowl in the microwave and set Power at 40% and microwave for 30 seconds at a time.

Each time 30 seconds elapses, stir the chocolate.

Stop cooking as soon as the pieces have almost all melted. They will continue to melt as you stir.