It's All About the Chocolate: Some Tips Just in Time for Valentine's Day

Are you considering making some chocolate dipped strawberries for Valentine's Day? No - not enough chocolate on those? Does a decadent double chocolate torte sound good? Still not enough chocolate for you? Then you could bake some triple chocolate brownies! They have bittersweet, white and semisweet chocolate in them. That should be enough chocolate to satisfy anyone's craving for this much-loved ingredient.

Valentine's Day may not be all about chocolate, but chocolate is certainly front and center on many gift lists as the day of romance draws near.

Just in time for shoppers during this pre-Valentine's Day season, culinary experts at Kowalski's Markets in the Twin Cities, Minnesota area have put together a primer to guide you through grocery store aisles.

Types of chocolate and the individual characteristics of each:
unsweetened chocolate
cocoa butter
white chocolate
white chocolate chips
milk chocolate
sweet chocolate
bittersweet/semisweet chocolate
chocolate chips

There are six tips for handling chocolate to help you work with chocolate properly in food preparation, be smart about how to store it, and know how to use it decoratively as chocolate curls or drizzle.

The primer also spells out six steps for tempering chocolate. Tempering chocolate creates a smooth, hard, glossy finish on foods that are dipped into the chocolate. It is done by heating and cooling the chocolate to the proper temperatures:

• Dark chocolate - Heat to 110°; lower temperature to 89°
• Milk chocolate - Heat to 105°; lower temperature to 87°
• White chocolate - Heat to 105°; lower temperature to 81°

If you are going to be purchasing chocolate candy, or another type of chocolate to use for cooking, baking, in beverages, or as a decorative accent to something you have prepared, learn how to shop wisely so that your efforts will be well-rewarded.

[See Kowalski's primer: It's All About the Chocolate]

And if you are shopping in the Twin Cities, Minnesota area during this pre-Valentine's Day season, try to stop by one of the local Kowalski's Markets and check out all they have to offer for the chocolate lover on your gift list.

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Source: http://kowalskismarkets.com/