This is peak season for strawberries coming from California. The strawberries are large and sweet right now. Two weeks ago and again last weekend I had my choice of Mexico strawberries or USA (California) strawberries for the same price at Walmart. The USA strawberries looked so much better (more red and larger) than the Mexico ones. So I went with the USA ones on both occasions.
I made a batch of just over a dozen chocolate dipped strawberries when we celebrated both my and my husband's birthdays in late April. I sent the last of the chocolate-dipped berries home with my son and daughter-in-law that evening. As they were driving away, I promised my household members that I would make more chocolate-dipped strawberries just for us.
Last Saturday I went back to Walmart and found the same great USA strawberries. So Sunday afternoon I made a smaller batch (just 8) of the treat for my husband, daughters and myself.
I particularly love very dark chocolate. Semi-sweet chocolate chips are around 50% cacao, which really isn't that dark. So I mixed unsweetened baking chocolate with semi-sweet chocolate chips in a 50/50 ratio to make about a 75% cacao for dipping.
Eight large strawberries used about 3 ounces of chocolate in total, costing about $1.50 for the chocolate. I used about 2/3 of a 16-oz container of strawberries (the 8 largest berries), costing about $1.72 for the amount used. My cost for 8 large chocolate-dipped strawberries was about $3.22.
Meanwhile, our local Safeway is advertising chocolate covered strawberries, 8 to 9 count, for $14.99 for a package. Melting chocolate in the microwave then dipping berries is about as easy a dessert as someone could home-make.
I saved over $10 by putting in about 15 minutes of work.
Just sayin' in case you're looking for a quick and easy dessert for this coming Mother's Day. I know I'll be making more for Sunday's brunch with my family.
I hope you're all having a good week.
That sounds spectacular! As easy as it sounds, it seems intimidating to me. Any special tips? Happy Mother's Day!
ReplyDeleteHi,
DeleteSpecial tips-- after washing strawberries, pat dry with paper towels. Melted chocolate won't adhere well to wet surfaces and could add water to the chocolate.
Semi-sweet chocolate chips and milk chocolate chips tend to melt into a thicker dip than unsweetened or dark chocolate. Keep that in mind if you're using semi-sweet chocolate chips. You may need to thin the melting chocolate with a little Crisco-type shortening or coconut oil. Don't thin with butter or margarine. Both have water content. Water can cause melted chocolate to seize and clump up.
You can melt either in the microwave or in a double boiler. Don't melt in a saucepan directly on a burner. If microwaving the chocolate, microwave in 10 to 15 second bursts, stir in between each burst. After all of the chocolate lumps have melted, you'll have to judge for yourself if it's thin enough for dipping. You can add a teaspoon of Crisco or coconut oil to the chocolate, stir and microwave for another 10 seconds, if the chocolate is too thick.
I melt the chocolate in a custard cup. A custard cup is narrow, meaning I can actually dip the first few strawberries in the chocolate without needing to do anything special, like turn or tip the cup or spoon chocolate over the berry. By the last berry, I am using a spoon to coat it all around. If at anytime during the dipping process the chocolate begins to get too thick, you can put the cup back into the microwave for 10 seconds to thin it more.
Those are my best tips for dipping strawberries. Thanks for asking. Happy Mother's Day!
We aren't quite into strawberry season yet here, but chocolate on a strawberry during any season is a win.
ReplyDeleteHi Live and Learn,
DeleteOur strawberries are all coming from California or Mexico at this point. Local strawberries won't be in season until June in my area. Anyway, chocolate covered just about any fruit is delicious in my book!
Great work, Lili! We always marvel at the prices charged for chocolate strawberries. Sure, some of the specialty companies have super-large, super-ripe strawberries, but I think it's a matter of preference if the proportions of those (inarguably impressive) are as tasty as a normal berry. And you got the kind of chocolate you wanted, too. Chocolate coating is really pretty straight-forward, and we've found, forgiving, overall. We don't have a microwave, so we do it in an improvised double-boiler. Isn't the big thing that if you need to thin chocolate to get the dipping consistency you want, you can add shortening or water, but not (which we've always thought was counter-intuitive) milk? I know in the past I've clumped mine all up adding the wrong thing. Hope everyone has a lovely Mothers' Day! Sara
ReplyDeleteHi Sara,
DeleteOh interesting, you've thinned chocolate with water. The couple of times I experimented with water to thin (or even butter which contains water) my chocolate seized. A double-boiler is really the best way to melt chocolate to ensure it doesn't scorch, especially good for milk chocolate chips, which contain a fair amount of sugar. And of course a double-boiler will stay warm for dipping the whole batch. For dark chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips, the microwave does well, but may need remelting part way through, as the chocolate cools off.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Sara.