AWhat is the best chocolate to use for making ganache? Besides couverture chocolate because I can't find it anywhere at a decent price.

AI have had good luck with bakers chocolate at the grocery store. you CAN use chips...but the few times i did i didnt like how it turned out. i used those before I started doing this as a business. Now that I'm selling I can justify buying the high quality chocolate but of course I understand not bring able to justify the cost! I hope that helps

AThank you for your response! I'll look for bakers chocolate on my trip to the grocery store!

ABakers Chocolate from the grocery store will work but I would use the semisweet NOT the unsweetened.

ABakers Chocolate from the grocery store will work but I would use the semisweet NOT the unsweetened. You can also find Guittard semisweet chocolate chips usually at the grocery store, I have had success using that.

A

No problem!

I use ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate for my ganache. So Yum!

I use cadbury chocolate melts, they work perfectly for me!

I use Ghiradelli chips for customers and plain ol Hershey chips when it's for me. I really don't taste much difference

AThank you everyone for all your great responses!

I you have an Aldi in your area, check them out- they have all kinds of European chocolate bars at a good price, it is fun experimenting. I have found some really great chocolate there.

AThank youuu!

I like to use high cocoa content Belgian chocolate.  You can buy big bags (minimum 1 kg) from your local costcutter/ similar, and it tastes great (literally, that melt-in-the-mouth sensation).  We use Belcolade, Menier and the usual suspects...  

But we don't tend to use chocolate chips per se, I thought there was supposed to be some additive that meant that they kept their shape...  and they weren't ideal for tempering, for example.

Interested in this too :) I am making white chocolate ganache though, and have found using standard white chocolate doesn't work so well as the ganache is too runny. With dark chocolate ganaches I just look for high cocoa content blocks though. 

What does everyone think of using Nestle Toll House chips for ganache? I've seen some people say chips are fine and others that it's not because of additives. The ingredient label for the TH chips says: semi-sweet chocolate (sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, milkfat, soy lecithin, natural flavors)

That doesn't sound like a lot of additives....think it'll work?
 

And their white chocolate chips: white chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, milk, nonfat milk, soy lecithin (emulsifier), artificial flavor, and natural flavor)

AFor me, rhe chips belong scattered in chocolate chip cookies. Actually eating a whole gob of it in a slice of cake? No, it's too, I don't know what. It's just not good eats as far as I'm concerned. Plus I've never been able to get the nice smooth consistency I get when I use couverture.

Decent, reasonable, affordable...those words make my skin crawl. NOT poking at you OP, I promise. I see this in almost every cake request when I stalk my town's local yard sale Facebook group. "Need a cake, who has reasonable prices?" Reasonable in relation to what???

A

I would stay away from Bakers chocolate. The chips are meant to hold their shape so it's harder to melt them. I make ganache often and I would really put the money into a better chocolate if your wanting to use it often especially for customers. I have to have chocolate shipped, almost all of my ingredients are shipped but there's a huge difference in flavor.

I only bake for my family.  This past weekend I went to the grocery store with the intention of buying real white chocolate for white chocolate ganache, but when I saw the price, did the math and realized I would be spending over $100 on just chocolate, I changed my mind.  Instead I bought the Nestle White Chocolate morsels and did a 4:1 ratio.  I used it to fill and cover a RV cake, and it came out great.  The ganache had to be refrigerated, at first I left it at room temp and it stayed runny, but after a few hours in the fridge, it was creamy and spreadable.  I've also used Nestle's semisweet chocolate chips for ganache and had good results.   Note: it does take longer for the chips to melt, but they do.

If I was selling cakes, then the increase in price would be passed on to the customer, but since I am the one paying for it, I can't bring myself to spend that much on one ingredient.

That's another thing to, buying ingredients like that from the grocery store *will*bankrupt you. Wholesale where you can, and that $100, could be more like $40 to $50 for good chocolate. Now that's broken down from bulk mind you, but it's always going to be cheaper than the grocery store.

I cringe when I see people buy vanilla beans from the spice aisle. 

AZ, I have a bunch of Guittard Dark Chocolate A Peels - Can I use this or should I just order couverture?  Thanks

Looks to me like aPeels are for cake pops and candy making. I could be wrong. And Guittard is a good brand, I use that often. Callebaut most times, but Guittard is the bomb! 

I have a link for you, as soon as my friend can remind me. Back in a minute.

http://pastryportal.com/chocolate-c-26/bulk-couverture-c-26_81/ This is a good place so says a bunch of friends.

I'm going to try the dark Tumaco when I order.