Melting Chocolate

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Published 2011

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Chocolate is a delicate ingredient, but it doesn’t have to be difficult to handle if it’s treated with a gentle hand. Here are a few tips:

The best way to melt chocolate is in a metal bowl placed over a pot of water that is just barely simmering (bubbles barely breaking the surface of the water). The bowl should not touch the water directly; it is merely the steam heating the bowl that melts the chocolate.
Stir the chocolate with a spatula or wooden spoon in a slow and gentle motion. Using a whisk or stirring too vigorously could cause the chocolate to seize.
Since chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa solids is more stable, unsweetened chocolate (practically 100 percent cocoa solids) can be melted over direct, albeit low, heat.
Chocolate with higher cocoa-solids content requires a higher melting temperature, too. Bittersweet chocolate melts between 92°F (33°C) and 94°F (34°C), milk chocolate melts at 90°F (32°C), and white chocolate melts at 88°F (31°C). When melting white chocolate, it’s best to remove the chocolate from the heat before it has fully melted. A gentle stirring will distribute the warmth to completely melt all of the white chocolate.
If your chocolate happens to seize, usually the result of too drastic a temperature change or too much vigorous stirring, it will lose its shine and seem to solidify and turn granular. All is not lost. Add a few drops of tepid water to the chocolate and stir where the water was added in a small circular motion. Widen the circular motion and add another drop or two of water, and the chocolate should return to its smooth and glossy state.
You can melt chocolate in the microwave, but take care. It is best melted on medium heat and should be stirred at 10-second intervals so that it does not scorch. Once scorched, there is no saving it.