If you’ve ever tried to make your own POLKA DOT MUSHROOM BARS confections at home, then you know how fickle chocolate can be. Indeed, working with chocolate should require a college degree in chemistry. It’s all about choosing a good quality chocolate, precise temperatures and most importantly, patience, patience, patience.
Making your own confections is a lot of fun and it’s a great way to gift the people in your life with something delicious and unique. Homemade chocolates make great gifts for family, friends, co-workers, even those who are most difficult to shop for. You need to know a few things before you embark on this adventure, but the results are truly rewarding.
5) Never add water or let water come in contact with the chocolate. Water is chocolate’s biggest enemy. When water or even vapor gets in the chocolate, it causes the chocolate to seize and become hard and lumpy. If the chocolate does seize, add a tablespoon of solid vegetable shortening to try to salvage it. Don’t use butter as it contains water.
7) If you think you melted the chocolate just the right amount, chances are you overheated it. Remove it from the heat immediately and transfer the chocolate to a cool metal bowl to allow the chocolate to cool quickly. There are two easy methods to melting chocolate that I like to use myself.
This is the quickest method, but it’s the one with the most room for error. The reason for that is that there is a tendency to overheat the chocolate in the microwave due to high temperatures. This is especially true for white chocolate. The best way to avoid this is by taking your time and watching the chocolate carefully.
