Getting your dipping treats ready in .NET

Making QR Code in .NET Getting your dipping treats ready

What you choose to dip into your concoction can run the gamut from bitesize pieces of pound cake to a wide variety of fruits Strawberries are always a favorite, and don t discount seedless grapes and banana slices as good choices What you choose to dip in your fondue is pretty much whatever you like and whatever will stay stuck on your fork as you dip You re limited only by your taste buds! When selecting items to dip especially fruits select pieces that are firm enough to stay on the fork You want fruits to be ripe but not overripe Before you prepare any fondue recipe, make sure that you have everything you need Nothing spoils a mood quite like discovering that you lack the fuel to heat your pot, except maybe determining that two days ago would have been the right time to use those berries in the refrigerator If you already have the pot, forks, and fuel you need, make a list of the foods and ingredients you need to get If necessary, make a quick trip to the store to get what you require If you re going to dip fruits that have been refrigerated, remove them from the refrigerator about one hour before you use them so they warm to room temperature and so you can blot away any condensation that forms If you add this condensation to real chocolate, you run the risk of having the chocolate seize up and become clotted Always blot items that may contain condensation When you use pieces of cake, cut the cake into bite-size pieces and allow them to sit on the counter for a couple of hours, giving the pieces time to firm up a little Now you re ready to create eye-appealing platters of your fondue treats I like to make a colorful arrangement of the fruits on one platter and place cake pieces and any other nonfruit pieces on another platter

Before you get going on the following recipes, I want to share some winning tips that guarantee smooth-as-silk fondue Most of the recipes in this chapter involve chocolate For some recipes, you want to melt the chocolate first and add the other ingredients later If you re using blocks of chocolate, I recommend chopping the chocolate into small pieces (see 14 for more about chopping chocolate properly) If you re melting chocolate chips, those morsels are small enough already

Don t confuse the terms melting and tempering Tempering, which I explain in great detail in 14, is primarily for chocolate used as a coating or for molded pieces Melting chocolate is fine when you re using it as a center or in a fondue, for example Melting is really quite simple: Place the chips or the chopped chocolate in a microwaveable bowl and melt the chocolate in the microwave When you melt chocolate chips, the chips retain their shape even as they melt, so stop the microwave frequently and stir To melt chocolate in the microwave, follow these steps: 1 Heat the chocolate in the microwave on high for about 45 seconds Then remove the bowl and stir the chocolate 2 Put the bowl back into the microwave for 45 seconds and then heat for 30 seconds at a time, stirring at each break until the chocolate is smooth when you stir it with a spatula The chocolate should feel warm to the touch If you hold the container of chocolate in the palm of your hand and the bowl feels hot, the chocolate is too warm Here are some recommended microwave times on the high setting for chocolate, but remember that microwaves vary: 4 ounces of chopped milk chocolate: 1 minute and 15 seconds 8 ounces of chopped milk chocolate: 1 minute and 30 seconds 12 ounces of chopped milk chocolate: 2 minutes 16 ounces (or 1 pound) of chopped milk chocolate: 2 minutes and 15 seconds Other recipes require you to heat cream or another liquid before you whisk in chopped chocolate In these recipes, the chopped chocolate melts easily in the warm liquid Heating cream to scalding is covered extensively in 18 in truffle production Once you have blended the chocolate, cream, and any other ingredients called for in a fondue recipe, the mixture may be placed in the fondue pot with the fuel source ignited You want to do this just before you are ready do serve the fondue because the heating elements have limited lives, and the fondue is not improved by simply sitting over heat A couple of options are common for heating cream or milk for recipes When I am blending cream and chopped chocolate, I like to heat the cream or milk in a small saucepan to scalding Scalding is the point at which the cream begins to bubble up but before a full boil (As cream boils, it bubbles up rapidly and will overflow from the pan You do not want to reach an active boil) After the cream reaches scalding, wait about 1 minute; pour the cream into the chopped chocolate, and stir with a spatula to blend