Description

Merckens chocolate wafers are ideal for enrobing, dipping and molding, and many other decorating purposes, both for cakes, other baked goods, and a large number of sweet treats. They’ve been a trusted favorite for almost a hundred years – since 1921!Merckens wafers are compound chocolate, meaning that there is vegetable oil in place of the cocoa butter found in couverture chocolate. As a result, they are easy to melt and mold, with no need for tempering. You don’t have to worry about blooming with Merckens compound chocolates!

Ingredients: Sugar, Partially Hydrogenated Palm Kernel and Cottonseed Oils, Nonfat Dry Milk, Cocoa, Milk, Glyceryl Lacto Esters of Fatty Acids, Soy Lecithin added as anemulsifier, and Salt.

How to melt Milk or Dark Merckens Candy Coatings

(from confectioneryhouse.com):

Place at least 1/2 pound of Merckens candy coatings into a microwave-safe container. (We like to use a two-cup glass measuring cup.

Microwave on high for 30 seconds.

Remove candy melts from microwave and stir. This is an important step. It removes hot spots and prevents the candy coatings from burning.

Return Merckens coatings to microwave and repeat process continue until melted. (Again, remember to remove the coatings from the microwave after each 30-second interval and stir.)

Once there are only a few lumps left behind, decrease to 20 seconds per interval and stir in between.

Now it’s ready to use! Start dipping and molding right away.

If chocolate becomes thick while you’re working with it, simply return to the microwave, and microwave for 10-15 seconds to remelt.

Important Tips for working with Candy Coatings

Keep candy coatings away from water. Water will cause coatings to seize.

Store candy melts in a cool, dry location. Confectionery coatings and chocolates will absorb odors. So, don’t store your chocolate next to your onions, unless you want savory onion chocolates!

Merckens Candy Coatings have a shelf-life of three months from time of purchase.

If you would like to thin your candy melts- after melting, add paramount crystals (1 teaspoon to 1 LB of candy coatings should be enough).

 

Your Candy Coating Questions Answered!

 I melted my candy coatings according to the directions but they are too thick to work with. What do I do?

We see this happen with colored and white coatings most. Assuming they haven’t been overheated (burnt), this is a common and easy problem to fix. Every so often a fresh bag of colored coatings just won’t melt into a fluid consistency. This is when you’ll want to reach for a bag of paramount crystals! One teaspoon of paramount crystals added to a pound of candy coatings is usually enough to do the trick! If it’s still not thinning out, you may have burnt your candy coatings. Unfortunately, once burnt they can’t be saved. You’ll have to start over with a new batch. Try dropping the temperature of your microwave or melting your coatings for shorter intervals.

My candy coatings were left in a warm place or arrived upon delivery melted and melted into one big chunk, can I still use it? 

Absolutely! Just place in the refrigerator for about 5 to 10 minutes or until it hardens again. Break it up if you can or melt the whole pound in a block, Merckens Candy Coatings can be remelted over and over again as long as you don’t overheat in the microwave.

Can I use gel or paste food color to color my candy coatings? 

Water-based food colors (gels, liquids or pastes) should never be used in candy coatings. However, you can use oil-based candy colors or powdered food colors.

I accidentally got a few drops of water in my candy coatings, are they ruined? They may or may not be. Try adding some paramount crystals, if they still won’t melt and thin out you may have seized your chocolate. This would mean you would have to toss the batch and start over.

How can I keep my chocolate melted so I don’t have to constantly re-microwave it?

We always recommend resting containers of melted candy coatings on a heating pad lined with a paper towel.  This is also a good idea for melting a smaller amount of coatings (for example, if you’ll be painting in chocolate molds). Just place a few wafers in a small container or a candy pallet and place them on the heating pad.

If you make a lot of candy, you’ll love our candy-melter pallets! They’re a great investment if you paint with chocolate because they keep small portions of candy coatings perfectly melted.

How long do confectionery coatings stay fresh?

Our Merckens Confectionery Candy Coatings are good for 2-3 months from the time they are purchased from us. They have a shorter shelf life than craft store chocolate because they contain quality ingredients and fewer preservatives.

What are paramount crystals? 

Paramount Crystals are flakes of palm kernel oil and you can add them to your melted candy coatings to thin the consistency. Many people use them to thin out their coatings before dipping cake pops.