Making Chocolate

by Cindy

Hi,

My sons and I tried making chocolate with the basic chocolate making recipe and we didn't have much luck.


We followed the basic ingredient recipe and brought it to a boil with no problem, but the temperature never reached the 234-240 degree softball stage. It never went past 220 degrees.


After 15 minutes of stirring boiling chocolate, we gave up and put it into the molds but it was very sticky (almost like taffy) and didn't taste very good.


How long should it take to get to the right temperature? What will the consistency of it be at that point?


Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Cindy

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Hi Cindy,

This basic recipe you used for making chocolate is not really the type of chocolate that you would use for molds.


That chocolate recipe is more for a soft chewy chocolate candy, not a creamy chocolate like a candy bar.


For making molded chocolates, it's best to use chocolate chips, chocolate bars, chocolate melts, etc. and melt it down and then pour it into the molds.


I honestly haven't found a good recipe for making chocolate for molds from scratch. I do get that question a lot, but no one else has offered one either.


As for the reason the mixture didn't get to the correct temperature, it could be a number of reasons. Did you test your thermometer for accuracy before you used it? Are you at a high altitude? Is it a humid day in your area? All of those things will affect the cooking process when making candy.


I'm sorry your chocolate making experience didn't turn out as well as you had hoped. Don't give up on candy making. It may take a little practice, but it's so much fun and even flops are still time well spent making memories with your kids. :-)


They can say, "Hey, mom! Remember when we first tried to make chocolate and it came out awful?! Wasn't that so funny!" I have great memories of times spent with mom and dad that I will always cherish.

~Angie