Tuesday Tip: Pick Your Fruit

Last week I wrote about dipping berries into chocolate. For me, something almost as much fun as dipping fruit into chocolate is picking fruit. My favorite fruits to pick are blueberries and strawberries. Blueberries are easy to pick because they grow conveniently on bushes, so the picking is pretty easy. Strawberries are a bit harder because they grow low to the ground. Over the years and depending on where I live, I have picked berries and other fruits at u-pick farms. I find it to be a relaxing way to spend the morning and a great way to get fresh air, have quality time with my family and friends AND pick the freshest fruit. The freshest fruit is always the best. And if you haven't eaten it all before you get home, you can wash it, dry it and dip it into melted chocolate!

These are the farms that I love to pick fruit at in the Baltimore area:

Baugher's Farm in Westminster for strawberries (early June)
410 857 0111
Larriland Farm in Lisbon for blueberries and raspberries (July and August)
301 854 6110
Weber's Cider Mill Farm in Parkville for apples (September-October)
410 668 4488

There are many many more farms and fruits! Please, make sure to call before you go to get the up to date info. on what is being picked that day and the hours of operation. Also, don't forget to go to the cash machine before you get there, they may or may not take credit cards. Bring plenty of water, a hat, sunscreen and maybe even some hand wipes. Most farms will provide containers. Have fun!

Here is a good source for u-pick farm info. in Maryland.
http://pickyourown.org/MDbalt.htm#listings

Enjoy!

Emily
The Truffle Lady

Tuesday Tip: Dipped Fruit

Dipping fruit in chocolate is easy, fun and delicious. Now that we are in berry season, I would like to recommend dipping berries. Here is what you need:

berries of your choice (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries- quantity determined by you)
12 oz. of baking chocolate (I would recommend Baker's semi sweet or bittersweet choc. squares for dark chocolate)
chopsticks or 2 forks
cookie sheet lined with wax paper

* Stay away from unsweetened chocolate when you are dipping.

Now, you want to melt down your chocolate. This can be done in several ways. You can do this using a double boiler, a bowl in the microwave or a small crock pot. Today I will talk about using the small crock pot. Put the chocolate into the Crockpot with the lid on and set the Crockpot on high. After 5 minutes, stir the chocolate. Continue to stir the chocolate at 5 minute intervals until it is mostly melted. When it is mostly melted, turn the heat down to low and stir until completely melted.

When you are not stirring your chocolate, this is when you want to wash your berries. Strawberries need to be washed thoroughly to remove sand and dirt. All berries need to be washed gently and dried.

For the strawberries, hold them at the top of the berry and dip into the melted chocolate until about 3/4 of the strawberry is covered. It is beautiful to see the red and green of the berry show, so don't be tempted to dip the whole berry. (also, the chocolate is hot, so you can keep your fingers safe by not dipping all the way!) Take the strawberry and gently shake the excess chocolate off the berry and then lay it gently on the wax paper lined cookie sheet.

For the rest of the berries, gently put the berries 3 or 4 at a time into the chocolate and rotate until they are covered. If you are proficient at using chopsticks, pull the berry out with the chopstick and after the excess chocolate has dripped off, let it rest on the cookie sheet. If using chopsticks is more of a challenge for you than it's worth, use the forks.

After you have dipped all the berries that your heart desires, put the cookie sheet into the refrigerator and let the delectable berries harden. Eat within 24 hours!

Enjoy!

Yours in chocolate,

Emily
The Truffle Lady

Summer Chocolate Blues

It's hot out! Many people, myself included, get a bit nervous about the idea of transporting chocolate items in the heat. It can be done!
Use a cooler, keep your chocolate in the cooler (and don't open it) until you get to your destination. Any size cooler can work.
Want to put your chocolate out for a picnic? Find a shady spot first. Next, set up a two plate system with ice on the first plate, then the next plate on top with the chocolate on that. This will work if you want to have the chocolate out for a short bit of time or in the evening. This will not work for chocolate that is directly in the sun. Also, if it is a small crowd, you may want to put out smaller quantities at a time.

Good luck!

Yours in chocolate,

Emily
The Truffle Lady