Dipping Chocolate w/ paraffin wax

Equipment

• double boiler (large sauce pan for boiling water, smaller sauce pan or bowl to melt chocolate in)

Ingredients

• 12 oz chocolate (chopped if not in chip form)
• 1 oz canning paraffin wax (such as Gulf wax, look in the canning aisle in the store)

Instructions - abridged

1. fill bottom of a double boiler with water, bring to boil
2. While water boils, chop the paraffin into small pieces.
3. when water boils, remove from heat. melt paraffin wax in top pan of double boiler
4. when wax is melted, place the chocolate in the top pan of double boiler with the melted wax
5. Let the chocolate sit and melt, stir occasionally. when chocolate is almost entirely melted, remove from double boiler.
6. stir chocolate off heat until it is fully melted. let sit for about 10 minutes to cool slightly before use.

Instructions - detailed

1. Fill the saucepan on the bottom with a few inches of water or just enough to create heat and steam. Bring the water to a rolling bowl, uncovered.
2. While water boils, chop the paraffin into small pieces.
3. Turn off the heat and remove. If the water is too hot (really steaming), let it cool a bit or the chocolate will seize, become grainy or burn when placed on top.
4. melt paraffin wax in top pan of double boiler
5. when paraffin wax is melted, place the chocolate in the top pan of double boiler with the melted wax
6. Let the chocolate sit and melt from the indirect heat from the steam. Stir the chocolate occasionally until it ALMOST melts (it will still retain some of its shape and look shiny). If the water cools too much, remove the top pot and reheat before proceeding.
7. Remove the top of the double boiler, and stir the chocolate very well until fully melted. The chocolate will be about 115 to 120 degrees F when measured with a Chocolate Thermometer. If some pieces of chocolate remain unmelted, repeat heating it over the double boiler for a few seconds at a time, taking care not to burn it. Stir gently.
8. Let the chocolate sit for about 10 minutes to cool slightly, and give it a good stir before using.
9. dip whatever in the chocolate, place on a waxed-paper lined cookie-sheet and allow to harden. 15 minutes to 1 hour, depending on ambient temperature.

Notes

• the wax gives the chocolate a sheen and helps it not melt are room temperature.
• there is some debate as to the safety of using wax in chocolate, but most sources seem to think its perfectly fine:
  • wax is going to kill you according to some guy on the internet
  • FDA says its fine
• there is a more complicated method to use with nicer chocolate called tempering that can achieve the same results
• supposedly you can use cocoa butter or shortening instead of wax to similar effect.

Trial 1

There were a few chunks of unmelted paraffin wax in the final melted chocolate product. It didn't get in the way in the end but was annoying. Not sure why this happened yet. Might try melting chocolate and paraffin in separate pans and mixing them together next time. The chocolate had a nice bright sheen, but still melted rather easily in your hands. Ended up keeping them chilled to prevent melting. Wax might not have been distributed well, or maybe I just used crappy chocolate or the method is flawed.

Sources

• craftybaking.com chocolate melt - great general source for different chocolate melting techniques
• geniuskitchen.com dipping chocolate
• reddit thread on paraffin wax viability/alternatives
• lots of detailed info on dipping chocolate