What is stopping you from doing it yourself and “rolling your own” so to speak? It’s easy to do. Grab a pan, grab some strawberries and chocolate, get a cookie sheet with some parchment paper and you are good to go.

This whole process starts with the best fruit. So try and go for the best-looking, plumpest, most healthy looking strawberries. Go organic if the price is right, because the flavor and sweetness is certainly more intense and juicy from my experience. If they are in season, which is spring and summer in your area, then they are going to be better. Otherwise, you’ll be purchasing berries likely imported from far away and then the price is going to be really high.

While on the subject of having the best quality ingredients, if you’re the kind of person who likes the flavor of chocolate along with a coffee or espresso flavor, be sure to go for an organic coffee choice as well. There’s no sense in ruining your great chocolate choices and berry choices with an inferior coffee product.

For your chocolate pick, you can certainly go with semi-sweet, dark, milk or white. Stores sell large bags of chocolate chips which you can simply melt on low heat in a pan, or take a baker’s block of chocolate, cut it up into smaller pieces and put it in the pot that way. Whatever you decide sounds best to you, go for it, this is your creation here.

Don’t forgot to wash and dry your berries. At this point, take a strawberry by the stem, or if you have some tongs or fondue forks, you could alternatively prick them on top, and dip in the melted chocolate pot. I like to go close to the top but still leaving a bit of berry showing. Place your finished chocolate covered strawberries in a row on your lined cookie sheet.

After you’ve made your assembly line and admired your handiwork, it’s just a matter of letting them dry. Before they completely dry, you can also get even crazier and add some more toppings to them. Crushed nuts, little candy sprinkles, more chocolate bits, sugar, whatever appeals to you. Congrats – you are now on your way to being a veteran in the chocolate covered strawberries world. You’ll be subject to rave reviews and happiness from those who enjoy your new culinary creation.

There’s no question that the pairing of chocolate and strawberry is a delicious one. But after getting your fill of the dipped strawberries - and I know, that does take quite some time as I have ample experience - you can expand your palette and cooking repetoire by incorporating the flavor of chocolate covered strawberries in different arrangements.

The first obvious idea is to top sliced strawberries on a decadent chocolate cake. This gives the cake lovers more of the moistness and volume to fill up for their dessert appetites and still provides a bit of the fruit accent. And as a red garnish on top of a very dark cake, it adds a bit of wow factor and dimension.

A strawberry mousse cake is also a nice option. This will give you a greater strawberry component as most recipes call for several cups of strawberries placed around the outside of the cake. And you’re still getting about twelve to sixteen ounces of chocolate folded in to the whipped cream to create the mousse. You can always go with a straight strawberry cake as well. Of course you’d be missing out on the chocolate entirely, and what fun is that.

You can go for a more simple option than a cake, and instead make a little delight like this: Cupcake Recipes: Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe. That will combine your love of chocolate with that red garnish in a smaller, more manageable set of little cakes. A little more casual and inviting, and also good for parties.

But you could simply reverse the process by having a cake or pie filled with the strawberries and go with a dollop of chocolate mousse, a little bit of chocolate syrup, or even some melted chocolate from the stove drizzled gently over the strawberry dessert. Now that sounds tempting indeed.

You can spice and stiffen up your strawberry chocolate partnerships by mixing in a little liquor. Some recipes infuse Grand Marnier in a small dose to reduce with the berries and give that richness without really having a signficant amount of alcohol in the final product. This will give you the cognac brandy flavor with hints of orange along with the strawberry and chocolate. I think this is a delightful combination and adds layers to your food enjoyment experience.

That is what desserts, and all of cooking, is about really. Adding up layer upon layer of flavor in subtle ways so that the person enjoying it realizes it’s a superb symphony of flavor. Yet they have a challenge describing exactly what all the ingredients are in the dish. It’s the undercurrent and hint and sophistication of extra touches that leaves the person wanting more.Mastering this takes some time and ability, but it sure is fun trying. And who wouldn’t want to make five or ten variations using these fantastic chocolate and strawberry ingredients to discover what works best. I think I’ll go back into the kitchen and brush up on my technique right now.

]]> http://decadentchocolatecoveredstrawberries.com/recipes-with-chocolate-strawberries/ /feed http://decadentchocolatecoveredstrawberries.com/strawberry-and-chocolate-facts/ http://decadentchocolatecoveredstrawberries.com/strawberry-and-chocolate-facts/ #comments Tue, 17 Feb 2009 21:52:43 +0000 http://decadentchocolatecoveredstrawberries.com/?p=11 Lots of kids name the strawberry as their favorite fruit. According to the USDA in fact, over half of kids in the United States say strawberries are their number one fruit choice. The average strawberry has approximately two hundred seeds. Believe it or not, the strawberry is related to the rose. This is yet another reason we see the connection between the act of giving chocolate covered strawberries and roses as romantic gifts.

Strawberry leaves, or leaflets, usually have oval, serrated leaves in a five petal arrangement. Now the name itself is a bit of a mystery. Researchers have often guessed that because the offspring from the main strawberry plant scattered around it, they had “strewn” runners. Other suggestions are that the old English world for hay was streaw. Hay was harvested simultaneously with the blossoming of the ripe strawberries, and thus these berries that were ready when the haystraw was were heralded as strawberries. Another story is that in order to stop the berries from rotting on the ground, farmers actually placed straw around the plants. No one knows exactly for sure.

A lot of people love to indulge in strawberries during the spring and summer months. You can eat the fruit plain - unlike in the colder months when you might put fruits on top of more hearty meals like when it’s time to crank out the waffle makers. It’s often an reflection and remembrance of freedom, relaxation and carefree days. Chances are if you’ve eaten a lot of them on the farm, on the porch, dipped as chocolate covered strawberries, or cut up in a fresh fruit salad, that they came from California. Nearly 75% of all the strawberries in the United States are grown in California. The next largest state producer is Florida, but it is primarily a West Coast dominated growing season in the States for the fruit.

So where did this marriage of the strawberry and chocolate come about? There’s a lot of berry fruits which don’t have that illustrious allure and melding with the richness of the cacao bean. Some of it is simply the structure of the fruit. A strawberry has a large surface area. It’s dense and the seeds help keep the chocolate a bit more tight and contained. A melon piece, for example, is certainly succulent and delicious. But it doesn’t have the surface that allows chocolate to keep. It’s also much more watery. It still goes ok, if you’ve tried it.

But the chocolate covered strawberry is still the king. And pretty healthy - it sure beats eating a bunch of donuts for a typical snack! The combination of red and black is also deeply sensuous and connects psychologically with romance, passion, the depths of action and emotion, and intensity. Sounds like a good pairing for romantic developments!

First of all, go to the sites and check out if they use real chocolate. Yea for some people they might not care, but if you’re going to spend the money you want them to taste good and get the health benefits from the real chocolate. Apparently some of the companies’ dipped chocolate is full of artificial additives and partially hydrogenated oils or even full transfats. I don’t know what your level of enjoyment is with different brands of chocolate, but let me share that the finer the chocolate, the better the entire taste of the whole berry will be. Remember that snacks like these can help you develop healthy eating habits over time too.

One reader did note that with a lower percentage of cocoa butter, the companies can create a harder shell that ships better with less risk of melting. This is a good point and worth nothing for the readers. A pure and darker chocolate will have a higher cocoa butter value. Some companies may in fact be using vegetable oils in place of more expensive cocoa butter. Regardless, this does not give any excuse for adding all the artificial ingredients in the chocolate.

It only makes sense that your recipe, no matter how exquisite your technique and skill, can only be as good as the quality of the ingredients that you start with. So be an informed consumer and demand a good quality product.

Some companies dip the strawberries about three-quarters up, and some actually go all the way up to the stem and leaves. The more and higher the covered strawberry is, the more product and more cost the company will be expending. It is also noted that sometimes for photo purposes and to prove it’s a berry, the top may be uncoated (thanks Dustin).

Check the shipping policy of the companies. Some will be using gel packs and package the berries in a standard box. Others will have a more insulated container and may use multiple ice packs, dry ice, or a combination. Some offer overnight shipping for reduced rates and others go with two or three day service. Be sure that there is enough cold material to keep the chocolate from melting and the berries fresh.

Check the satisfaction of other customers. See if anyone in your area has used their services or can recommend based on their experiences. You may need to give a couple a try for a special occasion. From that point on, you’ll know if you can go with that company for many times to come or if you’d like to try your hand at discovering the talents you can bring in your own kitchen.

]]> http://decadentchocolatecoveredstrawberries.com/chocolate-dipped-strawberry-comparisons/ /feed http://decadentchocolatecoveredstrawberries.com/chocolate-covered-strawberries-%e2%80%93-nutritious-and-romantic/ http://decadentchocolatecoveredstrawberries.com/chocolate-covered-strawberries-%e2%80%93-nutritious-and-romantic/ #comments Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:19:52 +0000 http://decadentchocolatecoveredstrawberries.com/?p=1 Now there’s a combination you don’t see everyday. But strawberries are in fact known for their nutritional value and for their sensuous status. Not to mention that they are the most popular berry fruit in the world. There are more than six hundred strawberry varieties, both wild and farm-cultivated.

When you’re thinking of a snack or a common comfort food pairing to get you through the day, a lot of people reach for coffee and donuts. That’s a staple of many diets, sure. But over time, that’s not going to do you any health favors. Strawberries as a fresh fruit, however, will still give you the glycemic kick, but in a more controlled fashion.

Strawberries’ romance stems in part, excuse the pun, from their simple heart-shaped appearance. They are a natural for Valentine’s Day because they look so much like a cute little heart. And when these simple fruits become full-fledged chocolate covered strawberries – now you’re talking serious romance and indulgence. The strawberry has been idolized in a number of movies and is a very popular present for loved ones - not only in that February holiday - but for any romantic occasion when trying to impress.

While you’re feeling good and indulging your senses however, you will also be getting a lot of needed nutrients. You can’t quite say that about the glazed donuts now can ya. You get over 125% of your daily required Vitamin C in one cup of strawberries. Eating a lot of fruit is part of a good balanced diet. Some people have had success with additional fruits as part of a diet, particularly a grapefruit diet, as it has enzymes that can speed metabolism.

The red berry fruit also are a big source of phenols. Anthocyanin specifically is heart-healthy. It gives the strawberry its deep red color. It is a big-time antioxidant which we all know are crucial to ingest as that helps neutralize free radicals.

When you actually eat chocolate covered strawberries, you’re getting two sources of anti-cancer value. Strawberries have ellagitannin which studies have shown associated with decreased cancer rate deaths and inhibition of abnormal cell growth.

Now you want to make sure that you are getting them dipped in dark chocolate, because this has much less sugar content than milk chocolate. Dark chocolate is typically about 65% cacao content, you’ll see it on the package labels. Just ask the company if you’re buying them, or if you make them yourself by heating some chocolate on the stove in a pan, then you know what to get. There’s plenty of free recipes online to pair them with. Or simply eat them alone and enjoy too.

Should you decide on milk or white chocolate, that’s perfectly fine, but know that those are higher sugar content and therefore your losing more of the cacao ratio and some of the health benefits. But hey, we are about having a good time here with these, you’re not taking a health education class! And if you really want to impress your special someone, tell them you’ve got some Fragaria Virginiana with Cacao waiting for them. Yes that’s the scientific name for chocolate covered strawberries. Score some smart points and an extra smile for your efforts.