How Much Chocolate For A Chocolate Fountain?

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A chocolate fountain is a wonderful way for you and your chocolate-loving guests to enjoy…well, chocolate! But you’ve got to get the quantities right. Too little chocolate in the fountain, and your guest will be left unsatisfied. Too much chocolate in the fountain, and much of it will go to waste. 

So yes, in this instance, you can have too much of a good thing.

Today we’re going to be talking about the amounts of chocolate you need to keep your fountain going and perhaps guests happy for the duration of whatever social gathering you happen to be hosting. 

So get your pen and notepad at the ready/ It’s time to talk numbers!

How Much Chocolate Do You Need For A Chocolate Fountain?

Most chocolate fountain machines will require a minimum of a pound of chocolate at a time. This will cater for around ten people.

Yes, it’s difficult to say that 1 pound caters for 10 people exactly. But that is a good rule of thumb to follow whether you’re throwing a gathering, party, ball, or whatever. 

1 pound of chocolate per 10 people. 

However, that can rise to 1 pound per 20 people if A, your guests aren’t as glutinous, and B, if there are other deserts, like cakes, sharing the feasting load.


So the rest of your party’s catering layout will determine how much chocolate you need for your chocolate fountain. 

Let us look at this in terms of some broader, approximate figures.

If you have between 50 to 100 people coming to your party, to cater for them, your chocolate fountain would require about 7 pounds of chocolate.

If you have between 150 to 300 guests attending your party, then to cater for them, your chocolate fountain would require 11 pounds of chocolate.

Now let’s say you have 250 to 450 guests coming. So that everyone gets a good old go on the chocolate fountain, you would need to supply it with 11 pounds of chocolate.

The size of your fountain will also influence how much chocolate is required to keep that liquid brown goodness flowing for your guests.

The size of your fountain will also play a factor. For example, the average chocolate fountain can contain 4 pounds of chocolate at a time. 

There are much smaller fountains more designed for personal use at home that contain 1 pound of chocolate at a time.

Let’s also talk about some serving sizes.

On average, the serving size for a chocolate fountain is 2 oz per serving. 

From a 5-pound bag, you will generate 40 servings. 

Can You Use Too Much Chocolate In A Chocolate Fountain

You can use too much chocolate in a chocolate fountain. This will result in chocolate overflowing or it not being consumed and going to waste. Each chocolate fountain machine will have its own capacity and chocolate requirements.  

Now, I understand that the process of supplying chocolate to a chocolate fountain isn’t the easiest. 

You also want to make sure that the chocolate fountain doesn’t run out of chocolate before all your guests are satisfied. That would be a disaster.

‘Hey, I didn’t even get a go on the chocolate fountain!’ 

‘Are saw you have 10 servings, Bob. That’s why it’s now empty!’

We laugh about this, but chocolate fountains have been the cause of much conflict in my home. 

So we need to keep everyone happy. Even the greedy Bob!

The problem we have here is that it isn’t very easy to quickly melt more chocolate on demand if you run out. 

So you need to be prudent. 

If you’re melting your chocolate using a microwave or on the stove, then you’ll need to make sure that you’ve melted enough to meet the demand of your soon-arriving guests.

By melting your chocolate in the actual fountain itself, you are limited by its capacity.

The mistake people make is that they think they can exceed this capacity.

I’m afraid to say that you have to melt within the rules here.

Chocolate fountains will come with an instructions manual that will specify their capacity.

Let’s take the average-sized chocolate fountain. As we discovered earlier, the average chocolate fountain will contain 4 pounds of chocolate at a time.

If you put more than 4 pounds of chocolate in a fountain of this size, then you run the risk of overflowing and also of wastage.

Think about it like a normal water fountain in a city square. 

If you put more water in the fountain than it is designed to contain, so long as it doesn’t have a way of ridding itself of excess water, it is going to overflow.

The same is true of a chocolate fountain. If you put too much chocolate in it, then it will overflow. 

The last thing you want to happen at your party is chocolate flooding the floors and tables.

It’s not a good look, but it’s also a great, shameful waste of delicious chocolate.

So please do try to stick to your fountain’s capacity.

How Much Chocolate To Add To A Fountain At A Time?

You should add 1-2 pounds of chocolate at a time, depending on the fountain size and recommendations provided by the manufacturer.

If you are renting your chocolate fountain, then it might come with an attendant who can perform this job as part of your rental package. So it’s worth keeping an eye on that.

But if you are manning your chocolate fountain yourself, you will need to know how to do it correctly. 

Of course, a chocolate fountain needs to be configured at the start. They will come with detailed instructions, so don’t worry. That will be no problem at all. 

Then, of course, you’ll need to know how to turn it on and how to clean it afterward. Again, all in the instructions.

But perhaps the most important thing you need to know about running a chocolate fountain is how much chocolate you need to add at a time.

Again, there might be some guidance on this issue that comes with the fountain’s instructions manual.

However, I am in the know when it comes to this issue. So let’s run through the process.

Bear in mind that if you are melting your chocolate in the fountain’s basin bowl, it will take about an hour to become perfectly melted.

So you basically start by adding the first 1 to 2 pounds of chocolate into the basin bowl.

Stir the chocolate thoroughly every couple of minutes. Make sure you scrape the sides of the basin to ensure that none of it gets burned. You want to stay together as one big pool of chocolate. 

If you are using milk or white chocolate, then they will need to be stirred more often and also on a lower heat.

But don’t put too much chocolate in at a time.

You want it to be a nice steady process. That’s why we say to add 1 to 2 pounds of chocolate to melt at a time.

You can melt your chocolate outside of the fountain’s basin bowl, say in a microwave or on the stove.

With that, it’s all about just adding chocolate bit by bit at a time so that it melts efficiently.

Once this is done, you simply pour your melted chocolate into the fountain’s basin bowl.

Turn it on. And watch it start to flow as the liquid chocolate cascades down the fountain. Mmmmm!

What Is The Ratio OF Chocolate To Oil For A Fountain?

The ratio of chocolate to oil you should create in your chocolate fountain should be half a cup of vegetable oil for every 5 pounds of chocolate you put in. Or 25g of vegetable oil for every pound of chocolate. 

This may come as a surprise, but chocolate isn’t the only ingredient you put into your fountain. 

Sure, it will look great on the fountain, appealing as purely chocolate to your guests. But it also needs to go in with a little something called…vegetable oil!

Vegetable oil? So, why do I need vegetable oil? Well, you need vegetable oil to ensure that the chocolate in your fountain is smooth and evenly flows throughout it.

The exact amount you need is half a cup of vegetable oil per 5 pounds of chocolate.

How do you do this? Ok, let’s talk through the 2 separate processes.

Process number one is if you are heating your chocolate up in the fountain’s basin bowl. It’s simple. You add the vegetable oil to the fountain’s basin bowl whilst the chocolate is melting.

The second process is when you melt the chocolate separately in a microwave.

In a microwave-safe container, add your half cup of vegetable oil in with your 5 pounds of chocolate. 

Then heat it all in the microwave until it has fully melted into a rich, smooth texture.

It is the vegetable oil that will help create that delicious, mouth-watering texture that is going to blow the minds of your guests.

Once you have your melted chocolate, no matter which method you use, it is now time to turn your fountain on and start filling it up!

Finally

I bet you’re already on Amazon looking to stock up on your chocolate fountain chocolate!

Don’t forget to buy some vegetable oil as well!

Check out my other chocolate fountain guides: