Central Campus Chef John Andres Shares Secret to Great Chocolate-Covered Strawberries
Chocolate covered strawberries can last for several days if they are stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Chocolate covered strawberries. What a glorious combination! Tis the season for romance, and professionally-made chocolate covered strawberries are selling around town for around $4 apiece. But there is no reason that you can’t make them a quick and easy project at home for a fraction of that price tag! Although chocolate can be very temperamental to work with, follow these simple steps and you can easily create your own Valentine’s Day goodies at home.
The first step is to wash your strawberries. Gently run them under cold water, and be sure to dry them thoroughly. Always keep in mind that chocolate doesn’t like water, so dry strawberries, bowls, and utensils are a must!
Next, place your chocolate (chopped or chips) in a glass bowl for melting in the microwave. Be sure to heat the chocolate in short bursts, stirring every 15 seconds. Some chocolates will burn at temperatures as low as 115°F, so be careful not to heat your chocolate past the point where it melts into an even liquid form with just a few small lumps remaining. Continuing to stir, these lumps should melt from the residual heat built up in the liquid chocolate.
Prepare a baking sheet or a flat plate with a sheet of wax paper. Holding each strawberry by the stem end, dip into the chocolate, and gently swirl to ensure even coating. Allow the chocolate to drip off, and gently scrape the flat side of the strawberry across the edge of the bowl to remove any excess. Place the dipped strawberry on the wax paper, scraped side down. This should help eliminate extra chocolate pooling around the strawberry as it cools.
While the chocolate is still warm, you can decorate with any type of sprinkle or small candy that you like! Or, allow the chocolate to set (dry) and garnish with white chocolate that you have melted in the same manner as the dark chocolate. Placing the melted white chocolate in a plastic bag and cutting off the tip of one corner makes for a great drizzle.
Enjoy your chocolate covered strawberries as soon as the chocolate has hardened, or store them in the refrigerator for later. They should hold up for a couple of days tightly covered under refrigeration, but chances are they won’t be around for very long once you have a taste!
(Chef John Andres heads the awarding winning culinary program at Central Campus. He comes to DMPS from his former position as the Executive Chef at the Renaissance Savery Hotel. Chef Andres is a graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America.)
