The British Love Their Chocolate and Chocolate-Dipped Fruits

The British Love Their Chocolate and Chocolate-Dipped Fruits

The British have an even greater affinity for chocolate than Americans and Canadians. According to market research firm Mintel, 95 percent of Britons eat chocolate at least once a week. They also enjoy chocolate-dipped strawberries and other fruits on special occasions like New Year’s Eve, Valentine’s Day, weddings, anniversaries, and Mother’s Day. Chocolate-dipped strawberries are a simple, romantic, luxurious, and natural treat.

Dark chocolate and strawberries are the perfect blend of sweet and savoury. The combination originated in Chicago during the 1960s at a store called “Stop-N-Shop.” A creative confectioner, Lorraine Lorusso, first introduced the product in the United States. The popularity of chocolate-coated strawberries has grown, and is frequently featured in gourmet food shops and high-end restaurants.

Let’s unravel a chocolate-dipped strawberry recipe, additional dipped fruit combos, and places to find indulgent fruit confections in the UK.

Recipe for Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries

Creating chocolate-dipped strawberries and other fruit combinations is surprisingly straightforward. The desserts typically have two ingredients: excellent dark chocolate and ripe strawberries or other fruits. And the best part? It’s a simple process. Some of the best pure chocolate brands for dipping are Bakers, Lindt, Dove, and Ghirardelli. Most supermarkets or local grocers stock these products. It is best not to use chocolate chips. They don’t temper well. For the perfect snap and shine for the end product, it is always important to use pure chocolate bars. One pound of chocolate = 30 half-dipped pieces of fruit. OurHappyMess.com has an easy tutorial recipe to follow at ourhappymess.com/chocolate-dipped fruit.  See the steps below.

How to make Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries

1. Prepare fresh fruit carefully by cleaning, cutting, or slicing. Let the fruit set at room temperature.
2. With wax paper, line a large sheet or jelly roll pan.
3. Temper the chocolate. Chop one pound of chocolate coarsely. Set one-quarter of it aside, and then finely chop that portion.
4. Put the coarsely chopped chocolate in a microwaveable bowl. Heat for 30 seconds. Stir the chocolate and heat for another 30 seconds. Scrape the sides and bottom. Heat and stir again in 10—and later 5-second increments. The chocolate should be 70 percent melted.
5. With the heat from melting the coarse chocolate, blend it with half of the finer chopped chocolate. Stir until smooth.
6. Gently add the remaining fine chocolate by a tablespoon at a time. Stir until melted.
7. Test the tempering by dipping the spoon in the bowl. The chocolate should temper in eight minutes.
8. Start dipping fruit and place it on the prepared sheet pan if tempered correctly.
9. Let it set up. Marshmallows, chips, pretzels, Oreos, nuts, and dried fruits can also be dipped.
10. Dipped items can be stored at room temperature for one or two days. Some items can also be refrigerated for two or three days. It depends on whether the fruit is fresh or dried.

Other Chocolate-Dipped Fruit Combos

Deciding what fruits to cover in chocolate is a creative process, partly due to seasonal availability, occasion, color, texture, and personal preferences. The possibilities are endless, and experimenting with different fruit combinations can be a fun and inspiring culinary adventure.

• Orange Fruits include cantaloupe, orange slices, papaya, and apricots.
• Green Fruits are kiwi, green apples, green grapes, pears, and honeydew.
• Red Fruits encompass strawberries, cherries, raspberries, apples, cranberries, blood oranges, red grapes, and watermelon.
• Blue fruits include plums and a variety of berries: blueberries and blackberries.
• Yellow fruits are starfruit, pineapple, bananas, yellow apples, mango, peaches, and persimmons.

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Instant Gratification

Walnut Tree is the ideal place to find chocolate-dipped dried fruit. The company’s decadent gourmet and luxury selections are delicious and easy on the pocketbook. Its website, walnut.gifts, features several indulgent package options: Gold Star Chocolate Fruit with crystallized ginger, lemon peel, and orange slices; Mango in Dark Chocolate; Ginger in Dark Chocolate; Award-Winning Orange; Dates in Dark Chocolate; Cherry in Dark Chocolate; Apricots in Dark Chocolate; and Orange in Dark Chocolate. Each pack costs from £10 to £15.

Other Chocolate Fruit Ideas

Fruity Gift has a delectable Chocolate-Dipped Fruit Bouquet. Choose from small to jumbo sizes. Enjoy chocolate-dipped pineapple, strawberries, oranges, and apples. This item is ideal for birthdays and special occasions. Delivery is available in London and up to 50 miles nearby. Bouquets range in price from £64.95 to £112.95.

Iain Burnett Highland Chocolatier of Highland Perthshire, Scotland has luxury fruit and chocolate hampers for bespoke and discerning palates. Iain Burnett is an award-winning master chocolatier. He has won over 60 national and international awards for his products. The most famous is the Velvet Truffles. His company offers Candied Whole Clementines, Oranged Sun Slices, Lemon Slices, Dipped Cherries, Orangettes, and the Dipped Candied Fruit Box – Black Ribbon at https://highlandchocolatier.com/collections/chocolate-dipped-fruit.  Packages are £11.95 to £27.95.

Chocolate-dipped strawberries are crowd-pleasers, and other dipped fruits can be, too. Often, chocolate-dipped fruits are found in high-end restaurants and gourmet stores. Dipped fruits can be fresh or dried. Making chocolate-dipped fruits doesn’t have to be complicated, messy or unpleasant. Many homemade recipes call for two ingredients unless the maker them make wants some kind of fancy decoration. Tempering chocolate from a pure bar is essential for a good product turnout. The final snap and shine are desired. For those who prefer the convenience, the UK has fabulous online stores selling affordable yet indulgent sweet and savoury goodness.

Share any ideas about new fruit choices with this post.

About Walnut Tree- the finest edible gifts

Great Taste Awards

With Great Taste Awards for nougat, dried fruit, marron glacé, glacé fruit and pate de fruit. You’ll always be purchasing quality products from Walnut Tree.

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Supplied under own brand or white label to prestigious stores, palaces, castles, stately homes, garden centres, delicatessens, farm shops, hamper companies, department stores and gift shops.

Why buy from us?

You’re buying directly from the source and will get excellent value for money. If you’re not happy with your purchase, we’ll refund or replace it. The website is open 24/7, orders despatched within 48 hours.

Our charitable contributions

Walnut Tree supports Future Dreams Breast Cancer Charity with dried fruit for their care packages. www.futuredreams.org.uk

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