Most people don't put much effort into buying chocolate for a chocolate fondue
fountain. Perhaps they have a few bags of chocolate chips on hand or they'll
even buy some of those brick sized chocolate bars. Sure this will work fine
and the whole fountain concept will still impress your party guests. But true
chocolate aficionados use gourmet chocolate in their fountains and you can
definitely taste the difference.
Melting regular supermarket chocolate chips is not an option in the most popular
home versions of the chocolate fondue fountain. The chocolate will be too thick
and if it can actually be pumped to the top of the fountain, you wont get that
cascading waterfall effect that these machines are famous for. Plain chocolate
will just drip if you're lucky. If you're unlucky, it will clog your fountain,
leaving you with a few pounds of chocolate that needs to be melted with hot
water before you can use your fountain again. When using regular chocolate,
you will need to add a significant amount of vegetable oil in order for the
chocolate to be fluid enough for the fountain to work.
The best way to melt supermarket chocolate is with a double boiler. For every
two pounds of chocolate, you should slowly add one cup of vegetable oil while
stirring. If you can handle your double boiler and an electric mixer at once,
then the mixing wont be too hard. You probably wont need the entire cup of
oil so add it slowly and stop when you think the chocolate looks right. But
don't forget that you cant add more oil when the chocolate is already in the
fountain. So if you are in doubt, add more oil.
The easiest way to set up your chocolate fondue fountain is to use couverture
chocolate. Couverture is a French word that means to cover. Couverture chocolate
is usually used for making candies or for dipping so its perfect for a chocolate
fountain. Its made with a higher percentage of cocoa butter than normal chocolate
and melts to a smoother texture. Couverture chocolate will give you that elegant
looking waterfall effect without any additional oil or mixing required. The
only drawback is that its very expensive when compared to supermarket chocolate.
Melting couverture chocolate is the same as regular chocolate. Either use a double boiler or a microwave. Since you wont be adding any additional oil or using the electric mixer, the microwave can work great. Set the microwave for a minute at a time and stir in between.
Whoever decided that turning a chocolate fondue fountain into a home appliance should be given a medal. Why save the chocolate fountain for weddings and other large parties when you can now set it up every weekend. If you are having a birthday party or a barbeque, why not add some pizzazz to the event with a chocolate fondue fountain. Whether you choose expensive couverture chocolate or regular supermarket chocolate chips, its sure to taste delicious.
Anthony Tripodi
Anthony Tripodi is the webmaster of GoFondue.com. For more information using a Chocolate Fondue Fountain visit www.gofondue.com
