Secrets to Perfect Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Probably the most quintessential pairing of fruit and chocolate known to man is the chocolate covered strawberry. That combination of sweet chocolate and fresh juicy berry is magic in the mouth!

With only two ingredients they seem simple enough to make-dip a strawberry in chocolate and let it harden.  Well, that’s sort of it.  If you dip a strawberry in chocolate by definition you do have a chocolate covered strawberry.   But making a really good one, takes just a little more than that.  The effort is worth every chocolate covered juicy bite.

The first secret, which really shouldn’t be a secret, is to start with the best ingredients.  Get good chocolate.  What is good chocolate?  Good chocolate is made with cocoa butter.  Many of the commercial dipping “chocolates” on the market are not chocolate at all and are made of oil.  Reading labels and looking for cocoa butter on the label is important.  Get good strawberries.  They should be fresh and fully ripened but still firm. 

Secret number two, take the time to temper your chocolate.  The end result will be a strawberry with a nice shiny gloss and snap when you bite into it.  What is tempering?  It is melting the chocolate then cooling it to a specific temperature at which the cocoa butter crystals will re-solidify nice and hard giving it that gloss and snap.  Improperly tempered chocolate will be soft and dull.  There are a few ways to temper with the easiest being with a tempering machine.  But a great article on how to temper by hand can be found here:  http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Tempering-Chocolate/Detail.aspx.

I’ve had folks tell me they tried to make chocolate covered strawberries and after they dipped a couple of berries the chocolate got clumpy.  That brings me to secret number three.  Melted chocolate and moisture do not mix!  Any excess liquid from the berries or utensils will cause the chocolate to seize rendering it useless for dipping.  Tempering will not bring back seized chocolate.  You must throw it out.  Or eat it, immediately.  Strawberries should be room temperature before dipping.  Cold berries can bring your chocolate out of temper or cause it to firm up before you are finished dipping. 

Lastly, let your dipped berries firm up at room temperature.  They will develop condensation if stored for too long in the fridge.  For that reason it is best to make them as close to serving time as possible.  As for storing leftovers, I’m still working on that one as I don’t ever seem to have any. 

Yes there is a little science and work involved in making a great chocolate covered strawberry.  When I’m short on time, a great solution is to simply serve fresh strawberries with chocolate fondue allowing each person to dip and indulge at their leisure.

Red White and Blue Berries

1 Pint Fresh Strawberries, Washed and Dried Thoroughly

½ lb. Good Quality White Chocolate (I prefer Dove®)

Blue Sugar for Garnish

Temper white chocolate either by hand or with a tempering machine and dip dry berries ¾ of the way into the chocolate leaving part of the red berry exposed.  Hold strawberry over chocolate bowl until excess chocolate has dripped off.  Lay on a parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle with blue sugar before the chocolate firms.  Allow chocolate to firm at room temperature.