Chocolate Covered Strawberries

-Madilyn Kendall

Prep Time: 15-20 minutes

Cool Time: 15-30 minutes
15 serves 5 people; each given 3

Ingredients

- 15 Strawberries
- 1.5 to 2 Cups of Chocolate Chips (you can choose the desired sweetness)
- Added Toppings (optional)
- Water

Equipment

- Make a double boiler using a saucepan & a heat proof glass bowl
(make sure bowl can sit over the saucepan and not in it)
- Place double boiler over onto stove top
- Stirring utensil (I recommend a rubber spatula)
- Tray & parchment paper or wax paper
- Cutting board & paring knife

*You may choose to microwave the chocolate rather than tempering it over
the stove; this will take around 30 seconds to microwave
Light History Behind Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Chocolate covered strawberries have been around since the 1960’s and were created by
a woman named Lorraine Lorusso in her small store called Stop ‘n Shop in Chicago. She
was just experimenting with trying fruit and chocolate when she introduced others to
them they became very popular along with other small snacks and fruit covered in
chocolate.

Experiment

Testable Question:
- How does chocolate melt and why; how does a microwave or stovetop affect the process
of tempering chocolate. How does heating the chocolate the microwave vs the double
does the boiler affect the taste, texture, and appearance of the chocolate covered
strawberries?

Chemistry Behind Chocolate Covered Strawberries:

My hypothesis: The crystal structures will break down causing the chocolate to be
smother and sweeter during the tempering process. I think microwaving the chocolate
will make the chocolate slightly different than tempering the chocolate in the double
boiler when it comes to the appearance, flavor, and texture of the chocolate.

Short Summary: Chocolate is made up of many crystalline structures and when these
structures are disrupted by thermal energy the bonds break. When these bonds break the
chocolate’s form goes from a solid to a liquid, which then smoothes out the chocolate and
improves the quality of the taste and texture. When chocolate is left untempered during
the process it can lead to a dull and matted texture which will make the chocolate rough
or chewy with uneven levels of sweetness.
More About Chocolate Crystals:
When we get our chocolate, we are most likely buying chocolate that has already been
tempered; which contains type V crystals. When we temper this chocolate the type V
crystals get detached from their bonds and destabilize. Once chocolate turns into a liquid
form it doesn’t have any crystals in the cocoa butter for all six crystal structures to form
if it is tempered again.

Once the chocolate is melted the temperature should be lowered to 80- 82 degrees F
during the mixing process. When you start to mix the chocolate this starts to encourage
the type IV and V to crystallize. After the chocolate has thickened that’s when you’ve
created a fair amount of crystals in your chocolate. The chocolate is then reheated to
make sure the type IV and V crystals remain. Since i’m using semi-sweet milk chocolate it

is important to reheat the chocolate after the cooling process because semi-sweet milk
chocolate tends to turn lumpy after it cools.
Process & Results:

To start my experiment I prepped the strawberries by soaking them in salt water & then
cutting off the tops. At first I separated the strawberries into groups of two; each
having 7 strawberries. I was planning on heating the chocolate in two different
ways; one way being melting the chocolate in the microwave & the other way was
to temper the chocolate in a double boiler over the stove. I used ½ a cup of milk
chocolate chips & ½ a cup of semi-sweet chocolate for each of the two methods.

I started with the double boiler method first because I thought it would take longer to
melt than the microwave, however I realized that the microwave takes longer
because you are not able to mix it while it is melting. Not only did the microwave
take longer to melt the chocolate in a liquid form but the chocolate quickly dried
up & started to have a dry & chalky texture where the chocolate I was slowly
tempering in the double boiler had a smooth texture and was held much more of
a liquid form. I decided to fix the texture and appearance of the chocolate in the
microwave by adding around 2 tbs of water and putting the chocolate back in the
microwave for an additional 30 seconds just as I did the first time I put it in the
microwave. After I took the bowl of chocolate out of the microwave again, I
mixed the rest of the water in with the chocolate and it still seemed clumpy but
was more melted. After mixing the water in I put the bowl back in the microwave
for the third time; only adding 12 seconds this time; after this the chocolate had a
smooth consistency. While I was working on the chocolate I was melting in the
microwave (which was taking much longer than the double boiler) I was using the
chocolate in the double boiler that was already melted to coat some of the
strawberries. Once I was half way through coating the strawberries with this
chocolate I noticed it started to get dry and semi-chalky as it started to cool so I
added 2 tbs of water to the rest of that batch of chocolate just as I did for the
chocolate in the microwave. I turned the stove on low a second time to mix in
the water with the chocolate that was starting to lose its liquid form.
So I ended up using three types of chocolate experiments rather than two because of the
way the chocolate was reacting during the experiment. After doing the
experiment with 1 ½ cup of chocolate chips rather than 2 cups for 14
strawberries, the amount of chocolate I had left over was too much so while I am
making 20 strawberries for my actual batch for the dinner I think it will be better
to use 2 cups of chocolate chips.
Making Chocolate Covered Strawberries
- Rinse strawberries and place in salt water to soak for around 5-7 minutes
then dry

- Cut the tops of the strawberries to get rid of the leaves

- Prepare your tray & parchment paper next to work area

- Place double boiler onto the stove & place chocolate in the double boiler

- Wait for chocolate to start to form into a liquid and then turn heat down to

86 to 88 degrees F for the mixing process

- Mix the chocolate until smooth & then add about 2 tablespoons of water
then mix again

- Dip each strawberry in the chocolate then coat & smooth over with the
rubber spatula & then place onto parchment paper

- Sprinkle on desired toppings if you like (optional)

- Once your chosen number of strawberries are all laid out on the tray, allow
the chocolate to set and cool

- Do not place strawberries in the fridge or freezer to harden; this will cause
them to absorb any smells and be spoilt (helpful tip)

- If you choose to add a chocolate drizzle it is better to add this after the
first coat of chocolate has already cooled (optional)