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Chocolates fly off store shelves for Mother’s Day
By ELISE McKEOWN SKOLNICK
BOARDMAN
Today is Mother’s Day, and Gorant Chocolatier is probably full of people looking for just the right gift.
Many will choose the red box tied with gold cord that holds eight chocolate- covered strawberries.
“Chocolate-covered strawberries are a natural for Mother’s Day,” said Jack Peluse, director of operations for Gorant.
Chocolate, he said, seems to be a favorite gift to give to relatives such as mothers, grandmothers, sisters and wives.
Given the short shelf-life of strawberries, though, Gorant workers must create the specialty item close to the holiday weekend.
“Strawberries deteriorate very quickly, as pretty much all fresh fruits do once they’re enrobed in chocolate,” Peluse said. “We like to do it the last working day right before the holiday.”
Chocolate-covered strawberries are normally good for about 24 to 72 hours after being “enrobed,” or covered, in chocolate. They will last a little longer if kept at a temperature of about 50 degrees to 55 degrees in a low humidity setting.
The employees get up early to make sure customers will have fresh chocolate-covered strawberries for mom or grandma. The production workers began their day at 4:30 a.m. Friday.
The chocolate-covered strawberries are produced at the company’s Market Street manufacturing facility.
After the strawberries are prepped, including removing the stems, the process of enrobing them in chocolate takes about 25 minutes.
The process begins with a worker placing the berries on a conveyor that takes them through melted milk chocolate. Next they go to a cold table to cool, and then another worker dips the berries in chocolate to be sure they are covered completely.
“None of [the berry] can be exposed,” explained Peluse. “Otherwise it deteriorates more quickly.”
The berries spend several minutes in a cooling tunnel, beginning at room temperature, dropping down to around 50 degrees to 55 degrees and ending at room temperature. If they aren’t “tempered,” or cooled, properly, the chocolate will appear streaky or uneven.
It’ll taste fine, Peluse said, but won’t look as nice.
A machine adds decorative squiggles of milk chocolate as the final step before packaging.
Gorant workers covered approximately 3,200 strawberries with milk chocolate. They made them for the Gorant store attached to the production facility and for the Gorant store in New Philadelphia, Ohio. They also made some to be used for fundraisers at other organizations.