Working with Chocolate

When melting chocolate, it is always best to start by chopping the chocolate into fairly small pieces. This ensures that the chocolate melts as evenly as possible; overheating destroys some of the flavor. You can place the chocolate in a heavy-duty resealable plastic bag and whack it with a mallet or meat pounder to break it up into manageable pieces and then process it more finely in the food processor, or use an odor-free cutting board and a large sharp chef’s knife held at a slight angle to shave off pieces of the chocolate.