(If you’re reading this, but not on my list, go ahead and get my free ebook, then I will also send you more chocolate information and you’ll have a chance to ask me a question too.)

Anyway, here is the question posed:

“Can you use cocoa powder to make a chocolate for dipping strawberries (that hardens nicely)?  If so do you know a recipe for it?”

Well, here is my answer… 

I know there are many recipes out there that use cocoa powder to make dipping sauces, syrups, frostings, icings and glazes.  Any of these could be used with your strawberries.  I’m sure they will taste great, but they will remain liquid or unhardened.

I suspect that there aren’t many recipes that make a good chocolate coating from a cocoa powder, especially one that
“hardens nicely.”

The problem is that when you start with cocoa powder you are starting with a product that has practically no fat.  Adding things you might normally have in your pantry, like butter or cooking oil, will not work.

Therefore, to get a successful mix that hardens, you have to add either cocoa butter or a partially hydrogenated palm kernel oil.  In this case you’d effectively be conjuring up your own confectionery coating.  So it’s possible, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

If you’re going this route you might as well buy a confectionery coating that has already been designed to harden nicely for dipping strawberries.   Just melt, dip, and cool.

Of course, Mother Nature has already created the perfect thing for you to use to dip strawberries.  It’s called real chocolate!  It tastes better, and when properly handled, works better than any cocoa powder based recipe ever could.  I’d stick with that.

It seems like I give tempering advice all the time.  And I know why.  Tempering chocolate should be easy, but it isn’t.  And when struggling, people do one of two things:  seek advice or look for ways to cheat. 

Tempering is just one of those things that takes a lot of practice, and you have to be willing to learn from your mistakes.

If you are making chocolate-dipped candies and have trouble with the tempering process, you may be tempted to put paraffin or baker’s wax into your coating to help it set.

Is this an edible and safe solution?

Adding paraffin was common in old candy making practices.  Eating small amounts of paraffin won’t hurt you, but it is not an approved food additive.

It is not necessary to add wax once you’ve mastered tempering.  Until then, I’d rather you choose to work with confectionery coatings (almond bark, candy coating) and leave the paraffin for the candle makers.

(Here’s a link to my learn to temper chocolate blog posts.)

In Europe, unlike in the United States, chocolate can contain other vegetable oils and still be called chocolate.  Chocolate makers in some of the European countries typically include other oils, whereas some only use cocoa butter.

Most notably Italian law permitted the use of “pure chocolate” as a designation, contrary to the 1999 legislation where all EU nations agreed that the label would make clear whether the chocolate contained cocoa butter and/or other oils.

They had agreed that the word “chocolate” could describe all such confections, but the ingredients shown on the label would indicate the quality of the chocolate.

So, after the European Commission sued Italy, the EU high court concluded that the Italian labelling was not in conformity with the law, and the use of “pure chocolate” was struck down.

Whether it’s called pure chocolate or not, look for chocolate with cocoa butter as the only fat, and you’re much more likely to have a better chocolate tasting experience.

The term bark is typically associated with confectionery coating, but I have seen chocolate bark being sold, especially around holidays.  I think that regardless of which type of coating the bark is made from, the common factor is that the final product resembles bark on a tree; thin and bumpy.

Here are two recipes for bark; a real chocolate version and a Halloween version…

Here’s the festive Halloween version… 

Enjoy!

There are chocolate-flavored confectionery coatings and there are what is commonly referred to as “real” chocolate coating or “pure” chocolate coatings.

The main difference between these two types of coating is the fat system.  Confectionery coatings are made with vegetable fats and oils like palm kernel, soybean, or a blend of similar kinds.  Chocolate coating is made with cocoa butter.  These coatings behave very differently because of the type of fat in them.

While you may have a choice in the type of coating you buy, you may not always have a choice in the viscosity or thickness/thinness of the coating.  For example, bulk chunks of chocolate sold in stores usually come in the “one size fits all” category. 

One of my readers asks this question: “What happens if your project demands a thin coating and all you have is one that is too thick?”

Paramount Crystals are small bits of partially hydrogenated palm kernel oil. You can use it to thin out confectionery coatings and chocolate (although I highly recommend you buy cocoa butter to thin out chocolate). The crystals are compatible with confectionery coatings because the vegetable oils function and melt in a similar manner. 

In addition to thinning down a coating, the crystals will harden up the coating faster and put a bit of a shine on it.  If you add too much to real chocolate, however, it will hinder the tempering process.

I have used this technique to thin coatings, but only with confectionery coatings.  I avoid using them in chocolate for several reasons, incompatibility being one, and also they leave a slightly waxy feel in the mouth and some of the flavor delivery is impeded. 

The best thing to do is make an effort to find the right viscosity of chocolate and confectionery coatings so you don’t have to add additional oils.  Search the web for a vendor that offers an assortment of coatings.  You should have the right tool for the job, but in a pinch, the Paramount Crystals will do.

Both types of coatings must be thin enough to cover and bend over the ice cream, thick enough not to crack open and let the ice cream seep through, and simultaneously be crunchy and melt in your mouth.  That’s not asking too much, is it?

Most of these demands have to be met by the fat system used in the coating.

The first type, real chocolate, ice cream coatings are made with cocoa butter.  This type is quite tricky.  Cocoa butter contracts quickly and is prone to cracking.  Adding milk fat or butter oil will soften the coating and make it more pliable and resistant to cracks.  Also, it works best to bring the fat content up to about 40 to 45%.

The second type is the most common ice cream coating.  It is a chocolate flavored confectionery type made with oils like coconut and palm kernel.  These coatings are much easier to work with because they harden quickly and coat evenly.

Coconut oil combined with a small quantity of softer oil like peanut or sunflower, will quickly form a hard and thin shell while at the same time maintaining plasticity that covers almost any shape of molded ice cream.  Typically the amount of fat is much higher than its cocoa butter counterpart.  These coatings have around a 60% fat content.

In the consumer market the confectionery types of coatings are often sold as being fun for kids because they go on easy and harden quickly, though much of the chocolate flavor gets lost in the formulation.

Speaking of all this ice cream coating, how about that raspberry chocolate sauce I wrote about a few days ago?  Maybe it’s time to try some of that over ice cream!

You might think, “there’s nothing confusing about chocolate — you buy it, you eat it!“  The reality is, the chocolate world has its own lingo, with terms and definitions that apply to the tasting of chocolate, the baking and cooking of chocolate, and the making of chocolate confections. 

To help you keep it all straight, here is a list of some common chocolate vocabulary along with their definitions…

Cocoa bean (or nib):
The cocoa bean is the seed from the pod, or fruit, of the chocolate tree — Theobroma cacao.  The cocoa bean has a shell surrounding it.  When it is removed, the nib, or the center, is revealed.  The nib is typically roasted and then crushed into chocolate liquor.

Baking chocolate (or chocolate liquor):
Baking chocolate is made from finely ground and roasted cocoa beans.  There is no sugar in baking chocolate.

Cocoa butter:
The fat present in cocoa beans is called cocoa butter.  The term “butter” does not mean that cocoa butter is a dairy product.

Cocoa powder:
Cocoa powder comes from removing the cocoa butter from the nib and then grinding the remaining solids into a powder.  The terms cocoa and cocoa powder can be used interchangeably.

Bittersweet (or semi-sweet) chocolate:
Bittersweet chocolate must contain at least 35% chocolate liquor and only cocoa butter as a fat, according to U.S. Standards of Identity.  Both bittersweet and semi-sweet chocolate terms can be used interchangeably.

Milk chocolate:
The most commonly consumed form of chocolate is milk chocolate.  Milk chocolate must contain a minimum of 10% chocolate liquor and at least 12% milk solids.  Milk fat and cocoa butter are the only fats that can be used.

White chocolate:
White chocolate is a blend of cocoa butter, milk, and sugar.  There are no chocolate solids present, which is why it lacks the typical brown color of chocolate.  U.S. regulations requires white chocolate to contain at least 20% (by weight) cocoa butter and at least 14% total milk solids.

Dutch processed chocolate:
This process darkens the color of the chocolate and releases a milder chocolate flavor.  The chocolate liquor or cocoa solids are treated with an alkaline solution.  The terms “dutched” or “alkalized” are listed on the ingredient statement for products sold in the U.S.

Chocolate flavored coating (or confectionary coating):
Chocolate that is made using a blend of vegetable fats either in addition to or other than cocoa butter.  Chocolate flavored coatings are similar in color to “real” chocolate coatings but taste very different and usually do not need to be tempered.  These coatings that contain vegetable fats cannot legally be called “chocolate” in the US.