Making Chocolate Covered Nuts?

[bethzaring]

Hi All,

I would like to made some dark chocolate covered almonds and peanuts and need help with some instructions. How do you dip the nuts and get them to come out smooth all over? Any suggestions on type of chocolate, melting methods, dipping methods and storing instructions will be very helpful!! TIA

 

[Chef_Jimmy]

When i coat something with chocolate, i place a cooling rack on a sheet pan and dump the melted chocolate over it is, the excess will fall though onto the pan. when it has cooled and hardened, scrape it up and put it in back in with the other chocolate to be melted next time.

 

[GB]

When melting chocolate there are a few ways to do it. One is the microwave. heat it for a few seconds at a time (5-10 seconds maybe). After each heating give it a stir. This is a great way to melt chocolate.

The other way is the double boiler method. Take a pot of simmering water and place a larger bowl over the top of the first pot. You want the second bowl to be suspended above the simmering water, but not touching it. Place your chocolate in the bowl and stir. Make sure the water never gets above a simmer and also make sure that not even one single drop of water gets into the chocolate. the gentle heat from the simmering water will melt the chocolate.

 

[Swann]

Hi All,

I would like to made some dark chocolate covered almonds and peanuts and need help with some instructions. How do you dip the nuts and get them to come out smooth all over? Any suggestions on type of chocolate, melting methods, dipping methods and storing instructions will be very helpful!! TIA

You will find it easier to make clusters of the nuts not individual nuts. To have the crisp, shiney chocolate covering of a commerical product, you will need to temper your chocolate. I do that to use up the leftover choc from dipping centers.

 

[bethzaring]

Thanks all. I've got the nuts and just ordered the chocolate. I also remembered I have some really nice caramels in the freezer, so will give them a try too!!!

 

[Art Pollard]

Panning Nuts

What you are trying to do is called "panning" and it requires a special machine. These can be huge. However, there is a small one over at Beryl's for about $500 that can hook on your Kitchenaid. (See: http://beryls.safeshopper.com/144/7912.htm?631 ). You can buy used industrial sized units for about $3,500 the last time I checked.

What they do is rotate the nuts while you put your chocolate or other coating in. The rotation coats the nuts evenly and smoothly like you describe. These are very useful machines. They use them from coating jellybeans to coating raisins, nuts, etc. with chocolate. In the pharaceutical industry, they use them for coating pills so that they don't dissolve / fall apart in your mouth.

I hope this helps,

-Art

 

[bethzaring]

Hi Art,

Thank you for your information, and, yes, it is helpful. I won't be going the route of buying special machines! I only wanted to make a couple of pounds of chocolate covered nuts for an upcoming road trip. You know, caffeine to keep me awake and protein to keep me out of too many restaurants. I like to pack a lot of home made foods for road trips and had not tried the nuts before. I will try the method of pouring the tempered chocolate over the almonds. If only King Arthur/Bakers' Catalog will get my shipment to my rural door!

Thanks, Beth

 

[jpmcgrew]

Are you trying to coat individual nuts or make nut clusters like turtles.?

 

[bethzaring]

My original intention was to make individual nuts, more of a bite sized product, easy to eat while driving. But if I find making clusters to be easier to make, I may go with clusters. Gosh, turtles sound inviting.

 

[cc2003btw]

Go to your chemist and buy some glucose syrup. Mix 1 teaspoon of this for 100g of chocolate, with a quarter teaspoon for every 100g after. Cover the nuts in whatever way you see fit, leave to cool, and the coating will be glossy and even.

 

[jpmcgrew]

I think it would be alot easier to make clusters melt your chocolate stir in nuts drop by whatever size spoon fulls on wax paper and chill.If you want to make tiny bite size clusters just chop the nuts abit and make tiny clusters

 

[bethzaring]

ohmygawdmyrt, I have a glorious mess in the kitchen. A few days ago I made some caramel with fresh from the udder, cream. That turned out so well I was prepared to stop the experiments right there. But this morning I toasted some almonds and pecans and tempered about one pound of dark chocolate. It took me a bit to get on about the best temperature to coat the dippers, and at the end I quit dipping and started dumping things in the bowl of chocolate. But I have a good supply of coated almonds, caramels and 8 turtles!