The chocolate you use determines almost everything: the finish, the snap, the flavour, and how well it holds on the fruit. Not all chocolate behaves the same way when melted and dipped.
Belgian chocolate is widely regarded as the best choice for dipping strawberries, and for good reason. It has a higher cocoa butter content than most standard chocolate, which gives it a smoother melt, better fluidity for dipping, and a glossier finish once set. The flavour is also noticeably richer and more complex.
Compound chocolate — the type used in most mass-produced products — replaces cocoa butter with vegetable fats. It melts more easily and is cheaper to work with, but the result is dull in appearance, waxy in texture, and flat in flavour. It does not need to be tempered, which is why it is popular in industrial production — but that same shortcut is what makes it inferior.
Couverture chocolate (which includes most quality Belgian chocolate) must be tempered correctly before dipping. Tempering involves carefully controlling the temperature during melting and cooling to create the right crystal structure. When done properly, the result is a high-gloss coating that snaps cleanly and melts smoothly.
At La Fraise, we use premium Belgian chocolate across our full range — milk, dark, white, and ruby — selected specifically for how it performs when hand-dipped and how it tastes when it sets. It is a non-negotiable part of what makes a La Fraise box what it is.