Tempering Chocolate

One of the reasons I signed up to be a Dove Chocolatier was because I wanted to learn to make my own chocolate gifts. And as a chocolatier, I could get a discount on a chocolate tempering unit. I've had my tempering unit for a few weeks now, but only had used once. So yesterday, I decided to pull it out and make chocolate covered strawberries.

I love how easy it is to use the tempering unit. There are really only two steps: 1) melting the chocolate and 2) seeding the chocolate. And the machine kindly tells you when it is time to seed and when it is ready. And to think I was afraid to use it when I first got it. I was so worried that I would break it. Here is a picture of my perfectly tempered chocolate (about 1/2 lb).



And then here is a picture of my strawberries. I probably should have melted down some white chocolate to drizzle over them for a finishing touch. I think that would have really made them pop. But I also find that I skip those extra touches when I try things for the first time.

When all was said and done, I don't think it took me for than 1/2 hour to temper the chocolate and dip about 2 dozen strawberries. I also tried dipping little mandarin orange sections. They turned out delicious, but didn't look very pretty. So I'll need to try those again sometime.

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On another/finishing note - I'm glad today is Friday. It seemed like a really long week. It is pouring down rain this morning. A more typical winter morning for the Seattle area, but a drastic switch from the nice warm weather we've been having (we almost got to 60 yesterday). And the "icing on the cake" is that we don't really have any plans this weekend. A weekend to hunker down at home - and I hope to get my "crafty" on. I also am planning on finishing my croissants from last weekend's class. Have a good day!