# QUESTION about TRUFFLES please read



## spaZDaisE04 (Nov 22, 2004)

I am trying to make truffles.  I got the middle part done and it tastes awesome! but whenit comes to melting the chocolate it doesnt work.  it turns in to a big blob.  i do use a double brolier and its not working for me. please help


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## merstarr (Nov 22, 2004)

Make sure the water in the bottom of the double boiler is barely simmering, and you mix the chocolate frequently with a wire whisk until melted and smooth. What kind of chocolate are you using?


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## spaZDaisE04 (Nov 22, 2004)

*Question about Truffles please read*

i use ghirardelli chips.  is there something else i should use?


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## merstarr (Nov 22, 2004)

Although chocolate chips melt much slower than bar chocolate, they shouldn't be a "big blob" as you described, especially if you use a wire whisk to smooth them out. But in general, it's not a good idea to use chips for melting - they have an added ingredient which help them maintain their shape, and therefore, are more difficult to melt. I suggest using bar chocolate and chopping it. I don't know what your recipe calls for, semi-sweet or bittersweet, but you can buy either in 4 oz Ghirardelli bars.


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## Psiguyy (Nov 22, 2004)

Is the problem that it just doesn't melt or does it melt and then turn into a blob?  

The proper way to do it is to heat the cream until it's simmering, then pour it over finely chopped chocolate.  The heat from the hot cream melts the chocolate.  The finer you chop the chocolate, the quicker the chocolate will melt.  Mix it gently with a whisk.  Try not to mix in any air.  

I think you need to go with bar chocolate or chocolate pistols (discs) that are designed for melting.  I never liked using chocolate chips for anything but sprinkling into or over something where you want the chips to stay chip shaped even after baking.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Nov 23, 2004)

Too much heat firms the chocolate into a ball.  As was stated above, lower the heat in the bottom boiler.  Also, if the chocolate becomes too thick, add a bit of water.  This will instantaneously harden the chocolate as it lowers the temperature.  But as it heats up, the chocolate will become more smooth and runny.  I've had no problem with chocolate chips, but do agree that bar chocolate is easier to work with.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## MochaBean04 (Nov 23, 2004)

*question about truffles please read*

the problem is that it melts a little and then just turns into a blob.  I boil the water then put it on low to melt the chocolate.. 
i wasted the bag of chips i got today. lol i wish i knoew bar chocolate was easier to use.  thats for the advice.  Im gonna have to pick up a bar before i give them away lol

thanks again

melissa


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## Psiguyy (Nov 23, 2004)

You all sure have a different way of making truffles from what I do.  Why do you melt the chocolate in a double boiler first?


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## merstarr (Nov 23, 2004)

Psiguyy said:
			
		

> You all sure have a different way of making truffles from what I do.  Why do you melt the chocolate in a double boiler first?



Why not? I find it a much better way to melt chocolate, rather than by pouring hot cream over it. Sometimes the hot cream doesn't melt the chocolate thoroughly and leaves small lumps, but with a double boiler, you are assured of completely melted chocolate. Either way, it's entirely up to the individual. I prefer the double boiler method.


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## WayneT (Nov 23, 2004)

*I had this happen a couple of times. My problem was using the cheaper Compounded chocolate against proper cooking chocolate or normal eating chocolate. *


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## merstarr (Nov 23, 2004)

WayneT said:
			
		

> *I had this happen a couple of times. My problem was using the cheaper Compounded chocolate against proper cooking chocolate or normal eating chocolate. *



This can happen with top quality chocolate also. I've had this happen with Scharffen Berger and other high-level brands.


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## scott123 (Nov 23, 2004)

merstarr said:
			
		

> But in general, it's not a good idea to use chips for melting - they have an added ingredient which help them maintain their shape, and therefore, are more difficult to melt



Ghiardelli chips and ghiardelli bar chocolate are the same recipe.

Chips are perfectly fine for using over a double boiler.

As far as making a ganache, though, I go for the more traditional route, a la Psiguyy.


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## scott123 (Nov 23, 2004)

*Re: question about truffles please read*



			
				MochaBean04 said:
			
		

> the problem is that it melts a little and then just turns into a blob.  I boil the water then put it on low to melt the chocolate..
> i wasted the bag of chips i got today.



Your water should be nowhere near boiling/simmering for melting chocolate.  The whole point of a double boiler is very low sustained heat.  That's why you're chocolate is clumping (it's called 'seizing').

Even if you do get lucky and your chocolate doesn't seize, those higher temperatures have done irrepairable damage to it. Chocolate has flavor components that are driven off/damaged by temperatures over 140 degrees.

You'd probably save yourself a ton of angst by just shaving the chocolate and adding it to the heated cream.  Traditional methods like this were incorporated because they were the best.

The only technology that I have found to improve on this method are new stoves being built with dedicated chocolate elements that don't go above 140 degrees.


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## Audeo (Nov 23, 2004)

Well, MochaBean, you're making progress!  The truffle filling is holding its shape!  Good job!

The folks here have given you some great advice and should help you prevent your chocolate from seizing again.  Just go slow and keep the temp low...

For ganache, I pour hot cream over chopped chocolate.  For tempering, I always use a double-boiler method.


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## marmalady (Nov 23, 2004)

Is there any chance a drop - even a drop! - of water got into your chocolate, and made it 'seize'?  The 'melting a little bit and then turning into a blob' almost sounds like it's seizing to me.  

BTW, I always melt chocolate in the microwave, and have never had any problems; even white chocolate, which is a very finicky lady!


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## kyles (Nov 23, 2004)

Like marmalady I always use the microwave, on 50%, and check it every minute. I find using a double boiler too stressful!!! I always manage to splash water into the chocolate and get a seized up mess.

For truffles I usually heat the cream and butter but not the chocolate, the heat from the cream soon melts it, though you need to stir very vigurously.

The compounded chocolate is the work of the devil WayneT!!!


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## merstarr (Nov 23, 2004)

scott123 said:
			
		

> merstarr said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



You're absolutely right about the Ghirardelli chips and bar chocolate - I just checked the labels. I should have said "SOME" chips have an added ingredient which help them maintain their shape and slow down the melting...


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## scott123 (Nov 24, 2004)

merstarr said:
			
		

> You're absolutely right about the Ghirardelli chips and bar chocolate - I just checked the labels. I should have said "SOME" chips have an added ingredient which help them maintain their shape and slow down the melting...



After a similar conversation a month or two ago, I took a trip to a few supermarkets and researched the formulations.  I don't understand why people think there's strange additives to chocolate chips (wax, etc.).  There isn't.  Semi sweet chocolate chips are just that - tempered semi sweet chocolate.  Nothing added.

This includes:

Nestles
Hershey's
Bakers
Ghirardelli
Shop Rite/Pathmark/Stop & Shop/Krogers/A&P/Wegmans (House Brand)
Trader Joes
Tropical Source
Guittard


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## Psiguyy (Nov 24, 2004)

I believe you about the chips, but that doesn't explain why I've never had much luck with melting the chips.  The texture of the chips just seem different from the bars, at least to me.


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## Audeo (Nov 24, 2004)

Of my notice, unsweeted chocolate commonly found on store shelves (Nestles, Hersheys, Bakers) is just chocolate.  Nothing else added.

But, any others, such from bittersweet to german sweet, contain soy lecithin as an emulsifier.

I won't even begin to cite the ingredients used to create commercial "almond bark" and "candy coating" discs that many use for dipping!  First of all, I don't have any to read from, but I recall seeing a rather exhaustive list of ingredients and additives, most having hyphens and numerals in and among the 15-letter words....  Also, I like to try and be a wee bit more accurate in what I espouse today... :roll: 

By the way, I'm not intending here to knock the use of almond bark or the coating discs.  I merely choose not to use them.  In my book, whatever gets people into their kitchens making their own candy, in whatever form or fashion, is tops in my book!


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## scott123 (Nov 24, 2004)

I'll knock the use of coating chips 

Hydrogenated oil is far cheaper than cocoa butter so these companies sub it. Cocoa butter melts in your mouth. Hydrogenated oil, on the other hand, melts a few degrees above body temp, so it tastes waxy when you eat it.

I don't know anybody on this planet with time to waste.  If you're going to sit over a stove melting chocolate, use a decent quality product and skip the coating chips.


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## southerncook (Nov 26, 2004)

SpaZ...you've already made the ganache? right? no prob. there, as that's just adding hot cream to chopped chocolate. You're trying to melt the chocolate STRAIGHT , you are trying to temper it in a melted state so that you can coat your ganache. Pick a dry day, and heat and melt your chocolate slowly over a double boiler (my sister uses the micro, she's braver than me and lives near a sur la table and whole foods) until it reaches the temp. recommended for it. white has a very low melting/tempering point and darker, richer chocolates have a LITTLE bit higher. get a candy thermometer and following any basic tempering method, melt and cool your chocolate. It must maintain a certain temp. in order to be thin enough to coat and not be 'globby' (scientific term). 
http://www.discusscooking.com/viewtopic.php?t=5437 has discussed tempering, and there are videos and lessons on how to do it all over the internet.  www.epicurious.com and footv.com are 2 good online sources to learn the best method for you to do this. Once you have that down, you can dip anything. I think you brought your chocolate up too high and too fast.  If you find the choc. covered cherries thread, audeo has specific tempering instructions there. I think there's a whole lesson on it at e.gullet. try again, I just did some the other day, and it's something you've got to practice to get good at.


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## spaZDaisE04 (Nov 26, 2004)

*question about truffles please read*

Thank you! lol i actually used the microwave but because of NY it was a bit cold ans snowy so it took a while to melt, but everyones advice helped. . i can now make awesome truffles! hehe 

melissa


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