Mary-Jane
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Ideas for fruit pieces for a chocolate fountainFriends of ours are putting on a surprise 40th birthday party for another mutual friend tomorrow evening and there's going to be a chocolate fountain there (just can't see the point in them myself...mutter, mutter, grumble, grumble...)
My job is to 'sort the fruit' for the chocolate fountain  What on earth shall I do? I have no idea what fruit to get/use/how to serve it up. If anyone has any ideas I'd be terribly grateful 
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sally_in_wales
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I think the idea is its a bit like a fondue, but runny chocolate, so anything you can stab with a skewer, like pieces of banana or strawberries or things like that ought to work ok. Apple and banaa is probably a fairly safe bet.
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Jamanda
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Grapes work, as do bits of melon.
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jocorless
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Grapes are good as are amaretti biscuits, segments of orange/mandarin and marshmallows - those along with the strawberries and banana slices are what I usually do - Never had a complaint yet - If you wanted to be really posh you could have sliced Star fruit and cubes of mango - melon doesn't really work that well as the texture means the chocolate slides straight off
I'm not really obsessed by Chocolate Fountains - honest! 
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towerhill
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I know it may sound odd but sweet peppers are lovely with melted chocolate.
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cab
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First local strawberries of the year are just appearing here in Cambridge; isn't beyond the realms of possibility you'll be able to get good local strawbs there too. Had some yesterday (the smell of good strawberries as you walk past a market stall, has to draw you in), they were superb.
Other than that... They've picked the wrong time of year for fresh fruit  Things like banana, oranges, at least they're not air freighted, and they'll work. I think I'd be tempted to raid the freezer and make a fruit cake with whatever is in there, and I'd cut that into squares for the choc fondue.
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wipka84
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I've seen ones with strawberries sliced longways, whole grapes green and red, pineapple and marshmellows (Good excuse to try HFW recipe?). Apple pieces may go brown if left out too long?
Ta da!
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Penny
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Dates?
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sally_in_wales
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the cake idea sounds good, what about flapjack fingers as well perhaps, just thinking they could be made a fair way in advance and saves a bit of work on the day.
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judith
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| sally_in_wales wrote: | | the cake idea sounds good, what about flapjack fingers as well perhaps, just thinking they could be made a fair way in advance and saves a bit of work on the day. |
Or biscotti. They store well and are fab dipped in chocolate.
Dried fruit is pretty good too. Dried mango pieces, yum!
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cir3ngirl
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Why just fruit I have used Fruit Pastilles in the past
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Annette H
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Pineapple is lovely 
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Mary-Jane
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B*gger me - have I got to reproduce that? 
| wipka84 wrote: | |
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sean
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| Mary-Jane wrote: | | B*gger me - have I got to reproduce that? |
Nope. We're expecting something better from you.
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Mary-Jane
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| sean wrote: | | Nope. We're expecting something better from you. |
*Gulp*
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Brownbear
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| Mary-Jane wrote: | B*gger me - have I got to reproduce that?
| wipka84 wrote: | |
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From the look of it, just stack up some rock-hard souffles still in their dishes, spray them with poo, and spread out a fruit salad around the base.
Sorted. You can even use tinned fruit salad and say you're being daringly retro-70s.
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BethinPA
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Well, at least you don't have to hull the strawberries. People can use the leaves as handles. As I was born in Pennsylvania, I feel compelled to suggest pretzels. But, 'cause people will think I'm completely nuts (Hey! How about nuts?), I'll say that a little salt is excellent with chocolate. Maybe a salty cracker?
Bananas would go brown and slimy, I'd skip them. Chunks of pound cake would hold up well, though.
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BahamaMama
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Chocolate fountain - yeuch  Just make an apple pie
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Mary-Jane
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| BahamaMama wrote: | | Chocolate fountain - yeuch Just make an apple pie |
Couldn't agree more BM...but it's not my party, nor my idea...
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oliveoyl
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Golden berries are good and look quite fancy with their papery lantern left on... bit expensive though, and not in season for a good while yet.
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dpack
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lemon juice will prevent the oxydative polymerisation of the phenols which make fruit go brown
ps fruit flies taste ok even if not dipped in chocky
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Mary-Jane
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| dpack wrote: | | ps fruit flies taste ok even if not dipped in chocky |
I'm not entirely sure that they were what everyone had in mind dpack...
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mousjoos
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Keep the fountain, skip the fruit, & cut up some pork pie & leave 'em to it!
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Gervase
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I've had ants' eggs in chocolate, and termites are tasty (like Bovril). How about an insect-themed choco fountain? Bound to make you the talk of the village, what with the adventurous tastes of folk round here... 
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Nick
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Tinned pears are the only actually compulsory fruit. Anything else, well, who cares.
Although I do like the insect idea...
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Jonnyboy
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mmmmmmmmmmm, cheap chocolate mixed with extra vegetable oil.
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Mary-Jane
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| Jonnyboy wrote: | | mmmmmmmmmmm, cheap chocolate mixed with extra vegetable oil. |
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Nick
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Actually, he's right. You need to add a drop of veg oil to make the fountain work at it's best.
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Mary-Jane
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| Nick wrote: | | Actually, he's right. You need to add a drop of veg oil to make the fountain work at it's best. |
Not my fountain. Not my party. Not my place. I supply fruit. End of responsibility.
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sean
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You're *really* excited and positive about this aren't you? I can tell.
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Jamanda
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| Jonnyboy wrote: | | mmmmmmmmmmm, cheap chocolate mixed with extra vegetable oil. |
Good chocolate doesn't need the veg oil.
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Nick
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They won't be using good chocolate
1. This is for a party.
2. This is someone who thinks a chocolate fountain is acceptable hosting.
3. This is someone who's passing half the work to someone else.
4. This is someone in West Wales.
5. This is a friend of Mary-Jane.
All the signs suggest Tesco Basics chocolate.
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Jamanda
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Fair enough - I've only done it for school PTFA events and we always use fairtrade stuff which is generally reasonable quality.
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gil
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| Nick wrote: | | All the signs suggest Tesco Basics chocolate. |
It's OK for baking with
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Nick
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33p a bar?
Damn right it is.
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Fee
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Cape gooseberries if you're happy going exotic, the leaves fold back for the perfect handle, even for very little hands. Those and strawbs, yumm. And dried apricots. And cake. And anchovies.
And stop being snobs, they're great fun for a party.
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Mary-Jane
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| Nick wrote: | They won't be using good chocolate
1. This is for a party.
2. This is someone who thinks a chocolate fountain is acceptable hosting.
3. This is someone who's passing half the work to someone else.
4. This is someone in West Wales.
5. This is a friend of Mary-Jane.
All the signs suggest Tesco Basics chocolate. |
 You're a crashing snob Mr. Howe. And these are friends of ours...
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Madame Bear
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All the sensible suggestions have been made.
But being a boring person, here are a couple that I think might work;
Semi-dried apricots
Agen prunes
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Nick
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| Mary-Jane wrote: | | Nick wrote: | They won't be using good chocolate
1. This is for a party.
2. This is someone who thinks a chocolate fountain is acceptable hosting.
3. This is someone who's passing half the work to someone else.
4. This is someone in West Wales.
5. This is a friend of Mary-Jane.
All the signs suggest Tesco Basics chocolate. |
You're a crashing snob Mr. Howe. And these are friends of ours... |
Which ones would you, hand on heart, disagree with?
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dpack
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even though invertibrates are tasty
for fruit/root chocky combo i go for strawberries and crystalised ginge rin syrup (the sticky sort rather than the dried sort)
locust,cricket ,ant,mealworm all are ok in chocky
chillis are good
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Madame Bear
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Please let us know ho you get on M-J.
On further reflection I endorse the strawberry iwith green left on dea. I actually make strawberries dipped in chocolate for children and the parents gobble them up. These are set, but the combination of flavours should be just as good with the warm mixture.
I really wouldn't want to dip melon in chocolate, and it would be rather slippery I fear.
Biscotti/amaretti would be delicious and keep well as the fun progresses.
Have a really good time, and take pictures!
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Mary-Jane
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| Madame Bear wrote: | | Please let us know ho you get on M-J. |
Well, the morning after the night before dawns...and Gervase has got the MOTHER of all hangovers from drinking several gallons of very heavy red wine Pity we've got to go up on the scaffolding to do the lime washing today
As for the chocolate fountain, the hoards of kids at the party leapt on it immediately...and within half an hour there was a sea of chocolate flooded over the table, spattered down the sides of the marquee, all over the kids and across the floor, with chocolate covered marshmallows discarded at every turn and lumps of chocolate coated fruit thrown all over the show, having been used as ammo in a mock battle by all the under 12s.
By the time the adults arrived at the chocolate 'fountain' it had completely stopped working and the display was more akin to a hippos' mud wallow than anything else...
So that worked then. 
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sally_in_wales
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so a good time was had by all then
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Mary-Jane
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| sally_in_wales wrote: | | so a good time was had by all then |
Yup
Actually it was quite a picture to see various smartly dressed women wandering into the marquee seeking out the chocolate fountain. When they were confronted by the 'wallow' each one in turn looked horrified, muttered "Oh..." and backed off.
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Jamanda
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See -if they'd used good chocolate it would only have been wasted
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Madame Bear
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Excellent news. Frankly, if the children enjoyed it, the adults ought to be grateful that the young ones were diverted for the requisite grown up drinking time. And the elegantly dressed ladies didn't have to mess up their frocks - winners all round I'd say
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