Chocolate for Fountains

Finding the right type of chocolate pieces to use with your chocolate fountain is important to creating the perfect dessert fondue. While standard chocolate found in grocery retailers will work, it has to be mixed with vegetable oil or cocoa butter to achieve the right consistency. By purchasing chocolate especially created for chocolate fountains, it will ensure you have the consistency and flavor that you desire without needing to add in unnecessary extras.

Purchasing the Right Chocolate Types

When purchasing chocolate for your fountain, you will need to find a specialty candy supplier or online internet resource that offers chocolate for fountains. Many chocolate fountain manufacturers also sell chocolate products but you can experiment with different types and brands as long as you ensure it can melt or be adjusted appropriately in order to flow.

Understanding the amount of chocolate needed for your fountain is also important. Most retailers sell the bags in two pound increments however most fountains require approximately 15lbs. You can also purchase larger quantities such as a 20 pound case which is intended to serve about 200-250 people.

When selecting your chocolate choice, there are standard options of dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate.  You can find additional versions of these chocolates that may be specialties of the chocolate manufacturer such as chocolate imported from European countries or chocolates pre-mixed with another flavor such as orange, raspberry or mint.

What to Watch For

Even if you have used your chocolate fountain before, it is important to look at the cooking instructions on the chocolate packaging. Some chocolates require pre-melting or thinning agents and without these added instructions, you could damage your fountain or spoil your dessert plans.  If the chocolate hardens in the fountain, you will also want to be careful of not turning the motor on or it can permanently damage the unit. Each fountain has individual instructions, but typically turning your fountain to ‘heat only’ will re-melt the chocolate. It is also often easier to clean a chocolate fountain when the chocolate is still melted.

Before purchasing chocolate for fountains, you should carefully review the instructions for your fountain in order to fully understand what your fountain needs to function correctly. The type of chocolate you purchase also has specific instructions for its use. The quality of the chocolate used in your fountain will be impacted by thinning agents such as oil so be sure to consider this before making your final purchase.