Mercken's Chocolate And Fountain Questions
Decorating By CakeDesigns Updated 2 Feb 2007 , 8:01pm by CakeDesigns
Hi,
I'll be using my Wilton Chocolate Pro chocolate fountain for the first time this weekend at a church function. This will be my test before I try to rent it out for parties. I have a couple of questions and was wondering if you can help:
1. What type of chocolate to use? I'm planning on using Mercken's. Is this OK or do you recommend I buy the specialty chocolate for fountains like SF Signature or Sephora?
2. Adding Oil. If I use the Mercken's chocolate, should I still use the 1/2 c. oil per pound. I've heard other people who have used the chocolate chips without adding oil.
3. Melting chocolate prior to use. I've melt and not melt. Which one is true.
4. This fountain is for 4 lbs. of chocolate. How many people or food items do you think it'll serve?
Thanks in advance for your response.
Here's an ad for the smallest Sephra model which holds 4 lbs. of chocoate.
Ad says, may serve up to 20 at maximum capacity:
http://store.sephrafountains.com/homechocolatefountains/home-chocolate-fountains,detail.php?ID=19
HTH
I have 5 fountains and set them up at least twice a month at weddings. (See some pics at http://www.flickr.com/photos/55969028@N00/ ).
I use Merkens chocolate. I add some oil to it, but I've no idea how much. I'm one of those "until it looks right" cooks. I have a glass measuring cup that is 2 qts in size. I almost fill this up and microwave the chocolate. You HAVE to melt the chocolate before it goes in the fountain!! Stirring frequently, when the chocolate is almost completely melted, add some oil. You want the chocolate to flow freely from your spoon ..... not a HINT of "glopping"! No lumps, no thickening ..... it has to be 100% perfectly smooth when you pour it in that fountain.
Which reminds me ..... I tell brides that I MUST have kitchen access with a microwave to melt the chocolate and I MUST have kitchen access to a sink with hot water for clean up. (You DON'T want that chcolate to harden before you clean it off!) If I can't have this access ..... they don't get a fountain. This is absolutely non-negotiable!!
I buy the Merkens in a 25 lb box and can usually serve 2 to 4 weddings from this box, depending on the number of guests. Remember, I'm also running two of the fountains at each event, so if you're running just one, a box may last you longer.
The fountain needs to be manned at the event. You can't just put the chocolate in it and walk away. It will need to be refilled.
Be sure the table and the fountain is level. This is what allows it to cascade evenly and beautifully!! 2 of the 3 legs on the bottom are adjustable. Helpful Hint: I adjust the legs to the fountain is just every so slightly leaning FORWARD (toward the guests). This will cause the fountain to have an even flo of chocolate toward the front of the table, where it is being viewed. (Who cares what the back of it looks like?)
I HIGHLY recommend putting down a plastic tablecover. If the bride or the facility already has a linen tablecloth down, I will still cover it with a plastic cover. (People are messy pigs when it comes to these fountains!)
I actually made a small sign of "To prevent chocolate from getting on your clothes, please hold your plate close to the fountain while dipping your food items" and placed it next to the fountains. You'd be amazed how many people will coat their strawberry and then make a wide turn with an outstretched arm to bring it 'round to put on their plate, dripping chocolate on everything and everybody in between!!!
Have plenty of skewers, plates and napkins. People in their 20's/30's will enter and go "oh cool a fountain!" People over 50/60 will go "OH! What's this thing and how does it work?", which is the 2nd reason a fountain must be manned ..... so you can show people how to do it; so you can stop kids from putting their cups in it because they think it's a milkshake machine (true story .... really happened!); so you can remind them to use the skewers and not get their fingers in the flow of chocolate!
It's a highly profitable item and they are not that much work. If you want to see the hand-out I give to brides on my fountains with the list of dippables, PM me with your email address and I will send it to you.
Sorry it's so long, but I hope it's helpful.
Wow, great tips! Thank you so much for the information. I'm typing my sign right now. The event is Saturday so I'll let you know how it went.
Yummy!!
Your 16 year old will be the envy of all!
One word of caution on the types of dippables to use. BIscotti, pound cake and brownies are common foods used with fountains, but be aware that any food item that has crumb potential can be a problem. The crumbs drop off into the chocolate, resulting in the fountain not flowing as smooth as it should and not being as 'pretty' as it could be. I buy the brownies from Sam's ..... they are mini-muffin size. Since they are not cut-squares, there are no exposed, crumbed edgings that can lead to crumb-drop-off in the chocolate.
The best and most popular are Strawberries, bananas, marshmellows and pretzels. I use the Rold Gold pretzel twists. They are stick pretzels about 4-5 inches long. Long enough to stick in the chocolate, yet the fingers are back far enough to prevent getting chocolate fingers!
Bananas usually cause a 'concern' because they turn brown so quickly. Here's the trick. Cut them into 1 to 1.5 inch pieces, then place the pieces in a 7-Up "bath" (a bowl of 7-Up and swish them around) for about 15-20 seconds. The citrus will help prevent them from turning brown. I can leave them on the table for up to 20 minutes before they start to turn. Don't cut up a whole lot at once. This will be the one food that you WANT to have to fill up frequently!
indydebi, when I looked at your pictures of your fountains I had to laugh. I have the same fountain and for my daughters 8th birthday we set it up in our kitchen w/ fruit and those wooden skewers for the girls to dip with. One little girl stuck her stick right down into the bottom where the agure (SP?) spins and it got stuck in there. Well as you can imagine it sent chocalate flying all over the girls and my kitchen before we could yank it out! We were all laughing except my mother (She's quite a neat freak) who was about to faint at the site of chocolate covering everyone and everything!
Now we know NOT to stick the stick in past the cascading chocolate!
Angelcakesmom after reading your post I'm DEFINITLY gonna make sure someone is manning the fountain!! LOL I can just see it now!! Teenagers are so unpredictable, who knows what they'll come up with.
Indydebie, once again more invaluable information I am so grateful for!!! I think the kids will get a kick out of it. Now I'm kinda getting excited and cant wait for the party!!
I had my first experience with the fountain. We had pretzels, strawberries, marshmallows and pineapples to dip. The chocolate flow was nice but there was a little gap. I put in 4 lbs. as the instructions stated but I think it needed at least 1 lb more. I used some chocolate discs some other lady brought, I forgot to write down the name, the bag was white with teal letters. I put 6 oz. of oil with 4 lbs of chocolate in the micro for 3 mins. The chocolate was nicely melted. The main problem I had was that the chocolate took a long time to harden and when it finally did it was still too soft for my taste and thin. It may have been the cheap chocolate or maybe too much oil??? Any suggestions???
I had my first experience with the fountain. We had pretzels, strawberries, marshmallows and pineapples to dip. The chocolate flow was nice but there was a little gap. I put in 4 lbs. as the instructions stated but I think it needed at least 1 lb more. I used some chocolate discs some other lady brought, I forgot to write down the name, the bag was white with teal letters. I put 6 oz. of oil with 4 lbs of chocolate in the micro for 3 mins. The chocolate was nicely melted. The main problem I had was that the chocolate took a long time to harden and when it finally did it was still too soft for my taste and thin. It may have been the cheap chocolate or maybe too much oil??? Any suggestions???
Chocolate took a long time to "harden"? I will assume that's a typo and you meant it took a long time to melt?
It's suppose to be thin to flow in the fountain. It's thinner than a chocolate sauce or a chocolate dip.
4 lbs in the microwave at one time seems like a lot, although to be honest, I've never weighed or measured (4 big handfulls in the big glass measuring cups....yep! that looks right!) 
The measuring cup I use to melt it is 2 quarts and it takes me about 3 batches to fill one fountain (mine is a 5 tier ..... takes a bit more than my 4 tier did). So if this was a lot of chocolate at one time, it may have affected the consistency.
Dont' worry about having a small gap. This can be caused by air in the flow, the chocolate being slightly too thick, or the fountain being not quite perfectly level.
Sounds like you did a great job! What did everyone think of it? Did they have fun with it?
I meant the chocolate took a long time to harden once on the dippables. I expected the chocolate to harden like it hardens the way the chocolate feels on the cake balls. It was too soft. Is that the way it supposed to be?
No, it's not suppose to harden when the guests dip it in the fountain. It's a "wet" chocolate experience. Like a chocolate sauce .... not like chocolate candy.
So I did everything right... 
!!
Thanks a lot for your help!!!
Justducky~I laughed so hard. Chicken dipped in chocolate, ha?
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