Chocolate Trouble!
Question - I have started a little bakery business and two of my best-sellers for children are chocolate dipped pretzels and chocolate dipped marshmallows. I use high quality chocolate and temper it properly, and no matter what I do, a few from each batch look a little streaky immediately - and within 4 days, many aren't looking so hot.....
How do commercial bakeries keep their chocolate so shiny and fresh looking for extended periods? Does adding shortening help, or is there a preservative that keeps things looking freshly dipped?
Mine taste awesome, but I need them to look awesome too - especially when I am shipping all over the country.
Thanks in advance for your help!!
By treatsbyerica
on Jan 18, 2010 07:30 PM
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either the temperature is too high when you melt it, or you're not stirring it enough...or both.
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Really? So you think it's not a matter of a preservative, or the addition of shortening....I'll give it a try. Is there an ideal temp?
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No, don't add shortening or anything else. There are a lot of good sites on tempering and temperature but I found this to be easy to follow w/ all the relevant information, including temperature (which varies depending on type of chocolate). Because you are tempering, I wonder if the temperature drops too low at points so you're getting streaks only on some. It takes constant vigilance and I find the last ones I do also aren't tempered because the melted chocolate has cooled too much.
http://www.cookingforengineers.com/ar...
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Agreed. You have to constantly monitor the temperature of your chocolate as you are dipping. Even dipping in room temperature items will cool your chocolate - room temp is below 90F after all. If a few from every batch are looking streaky, it could be the last few dipped as the chocolate got cooler. I have to wonder how you make sure your chocolate is properly tempered if this is happening - your chocolate may be off after all. Cooling the dipped items quickly, like under a fan or a few minutes in the fridge can help. The other thing to consider would be if there is warm air blowing on them that might be causing the bloom, but I would imagine that would be more of an all-over bloom than streaky.
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Alton Brown used a back heater (one of the electric ones that are flat) to keep chocolate the right temperature which sounds like a good idea. I haven't done it, nor do I have a proper candy thermometer so I know my last ones don't come out right because the temperature of the chocolate drops too much when I do too many. I should say also that mine aren't streaky, more that I know they're not properly tempered because they're not shiny at room temperature, nor have that crispness the others have.
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Have you tried using paraffin wax? That's what I did with my Christmas candies. An ounce melted with 2 cups of semi-sweet chips and it all stayed shiny for a week to two weeks.
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