Friday, September 03, 2004 Question: How do I Stop Chocolate Blooming on Hand-Dipped Fruit?
A Reader Asks, “I have been trying various methods to hand dip dried apricots in chocolate, but always get a “bloom” on the chocolate as it dries. The apricots are drained from a brandy concoction that I make, but I am careful to lay them out and let them dry before dipping them. I’ve melted down various kinds of chocolate (Ghirardelli, Valhrona, Guittard, Callebaut), but always get the same result. What am I missing?” The answer probably lies not with the chocolate you’re using but …” … Are you tempering the chocolate or just melting it? (Your post implies that you’re just melting it.) If you’re just melting it, do you have the same problem with plain (non-soaked) apricots—or is it just with the soaked apricots? If the chocolate does not bloom using plain apricots then what’s probably happening is that the high moisture content of the soaked apricots (even though the surface may appear dry) is causing the non-tempered chocolate to bloom. The next step will be to temper the chocola
