adding cocoa butter to chocolate fountain?

Question

i have just bought a large chocolate fountain that will serve between 2-600 people, could anyone tell me how do i thin the chocolate out with the powdered cocoa butter if i was wanting to use 10 kilos of chocolate for a party? i havent set it up yet so dont know really what to do?
thanks

Answer 1

With such a large fountain, the amount of chocolate you are talking about (10kg or 22lbs), is going to be quite expensive. While the earlier suggestion of Lindt Excellence 70% is not a bad one, 10kg of it is going to cost at least US$190 (at $1.99 per 100gr bar).

When you are using a chocolat fountain, the whole idea is to eat the chocolate covered {insert your favorite food here} immediately so there should never be an issue with the chocolate setting. You want it to be warm and gooshy (gooshy is the semi-technical term I use to describe the texture of warm, liquid chocolate in the mouth).

Your best bet is to purchase a covering chocolate (what is called in the trade a "couverture") at wholesale, especially if you are going to be using this fountain a lot. A couverture chocolate is made to be slightly thinner than eating chocolate when it is melted which will mean the chocolate in the fountain will flow more easily. There are many good brands of couverture you can use for this that should cost you well under US$11kg (US$5.00/lb). I would advise against going super-cheap, anything under US$5kg (~US$2/lb) is not likely to taste very good.

You can use less expensive chocolate in this application because it is warm and untempered. You are counting on the novelty and immediacy of dipping an item in the chocolate and eating it to compensate (to a very large degree) for the quality of the chocolate.

To correct a point in a previous response: Chocolate does not dry out, it sets. The cocoa butter in the chocolate crystallizes when it cools down, causing the chocolate to harden. If you are dipping strawberries in the fountain and want the chocolate to set, line a sheet pan with parchment or a silpat and pop the strawberries in the fridge to set the chocolate. Eat within an hour -- strawberries dipped in chocolate treated this way will not last.

If you have no previous experience, melt the couverture in the fountain (purchase it in drops/pistoles/callets so you don't have to chop it into chunks yourself) to see what the texture is like before you add anything to it. You may find that it is thin enough, especially if you are using a couverture.

There are many reasons why the chocolate might thicken over the course of several hours of use. The first is humidity in the room. Chocolate is hygroscopic (it picks up moisture from the air) causing it to thicken. Your first line of defense is to make sure the humidity in the room is air is below 50%. Generally, if the room is air-conditioned this is not a problem. Another reason is dipping wet foods in the chocolate will cause it to thicken. Make sure that whatever you put out for dipping is dry to the touch. This is not possible with some foods -- especially fruits including pineapple and kiwi fruit. If you have to offer these you may need to thin the chocolate out a bit over the course of the event.

The general rule of thumb is to add cocoa butter in 1% increments. So, if there's 10kg of chocolate in the fountain, add the cocoa butter 100gr (3.5oz) at a time.

You can use a neutral vegetable oil to accomplish the same thing as cocoa butter. It is less expensive but in my opinion it ruins the chocolate. If you use cocoa butter, you can pour the unused chocolate into a holding container, let it set up (it may look ugly but that's okay), and re-melt it the next time. You won't want to re-use the chocolate if you use vegetable oil to thin it.

HTH,
:: Clay

Answer 2

You don't have to thin the chocolate, you just put the melted chocolate in the fountain and that's it.. The best chocolate to use is "Lindt" Excellence 70% cocoa..... it's a dark chocolate which you can find in almost every super market..

The chocolate in this fountain should not be thin, when you dip something there (ex. Strawberries) then the chocolate should dry on it to make a coating.. which means chocolate shouldn't be thin..

Try it, and let me know..

Good luck

Answer 3

I have a chocolate fountain, and the instructions for mine recommends using vegetable oil to thin out. Take care to use an oil without a strong taste.

You also want to melt the ingredients first before adding it to the fountain, unless your fountain specifically allows for reservoir heating (i.e. the heat can be turned on independent of the central spiral mechanism). Note that the flow mechanism of the fountain does not take well to clumps, and it is quicker to melt using a microwave anyway.

Answer 4

You can get melting chocolate (a bag of small disks) at your local craft store. The bag or the fountain should have instructions. You basically have to put the chocolate pieces in a pot on low heat and stir until smooth. Place melted chocolate into fountain.

Answer 5

The instruction booklet contains ideas and recipes. You can also contact the company for more information. The phone numbers and contact info will also be found in the owners manual. It is important to follow the suggested recipes. When you use some items in the fountain, it may void you warranty.

Answer 6

For a chocolate fondue, chocolate is usually added with whipped cream and butter to thin it out. :)

Answer 7

Does it not come with any instructions