CHOCOLATE FAQS —
BEST WAYS TO work with chocolate

DISCOVER some of the best practices & Tips
for working with chocolate - from DALLAS CHOCOLATE CLASSES

CHOCOLATE FAQS

What is the best way to melt chocolate?

Chocolate is very sensitive to high temperatures and the highest temperature it can reach without burning and separating or just developing off flavors can vary depending on how the chocolate is manufactured. Dark chocolate can tolerate slightly higher temperatures than milk or white chocolate, which generally contain higher amounts of sugar plus dairy. Max temperatures, as a rule of thumb, range from 136F (58C) to 110F (43C), with dark chocolate tolerating the higher temperatures and milk and white chocolate the lower temperatures of this range. Remember that chocolate melts in your hand because the cocoa butter it contains melts just below body temperature. If this is the case, then this tells you that you don’t need high heat to melt chocolate! You’re always better off using very low heat and taking time to slowly melt your chocolate rather than trying to rush it by placing it over high heat. Never place chocolate in a dry saucepan with the intention of melting it directly on the stove top. Melted in this way, it will overheat very quickly, even if set over low heat. Instead, place it on a double boiler or in a water bath with only hot water and watch and stir it often. When about 75% of the chocolate is melted, remove it from the heat source and stir until completely melted. Typically, there is enough residual heat in the bowl to finish melting the chocolate. On a double boiler or in a water bath, you can still overheat chocolate if you don’t attend to it. Dark, milk, and white chocolate will reach a temperature of up to 190F (88C) when unattended on these heat sources — not hot enough to burn the sugars, but hot enough to impact the flavor of the chocolate, lending it a sour smell and flavor. Using the microwave is convenient and a good option as well; remember this is where the chocolate’s temperature can escalate quickly and significantly, burning the cocoa solids as well as the sugars. For microwave melting, use a clean, preferably plastic, bowl. A plastic bowl will not retain heat as much as glass and thus will help avoid overheating. For efficient microwave heating, chop your chocolate evenly into small pieces, and use short bursts of heat accompanied by frequent stirring and frequent testing of the chocolate’s temperature by feeling it (dab a small amount on the outside center of your lower lip). Do not allow your chocolate to feel hotter than hot bath water.

What happens if you get water in your chocolate while melting it?

Each chocolate has a certain “performance” because of its quantity of sugar, fats, cocoa solids, and potentially other ingredients based on its manufacture. The rule of thumb you’re always taught is to “never get a SINGLE drop of water, or even steam, in your melting chocolate” because it will cause the chocolate to seize. This isn’t necessarily true, however. For some warm, melted couvertures, you can add a few drops of water to them and, after continual stirring, see no signs of seizing; they’ll remain fluid, depending on the proportion of water to chocolate. However, if you continue to add water in small amounts they will eventually seize. “Seizing” means the chocolate will begin to thicken more and more and eventually become so thick it will be difficult to stir. If this happens, the good news is that, although you can no longer use the chocolate for its original purpose, you can save it for another use. Simply add more warm water (or cream or milk, which contain water) in small amounts to the warm chocolate while stirring until it finally reaches a pudding-like consistency and looks emulsified (smooth and creamy). Scrape this mixture into a freezer bag and store it for another use (if you can’t think of another use, just serve it a little warm as a dessert sauce, changing its thickness by adding more milk or cream or water, if desired). Each chocolate is different, so your results will vary depending on the chocolate. The point is to avoid throwing it away and instead save it to use for another purpose later. Chocolate doesn’t mind water, it just doesn’t like water in small amounts.

How do you melt chocolate on the stove?

For stove top chocolate melting, we typically turn to heated water sources, as the water provides a degree of insulation to make the melting process more gentle. You have two options for melting dark, milk, or white chocolate on the stove top: a double boiler (where one pan sits atop another without touching the simmering water contained in the bottom pan) or a water bath (aka bain marie) in which a bowl of chocolate sits down in a shallow quantity of hot water (about 1 inch). You can purchase a double boiler, designed to insulate the mixture in the top pan from the simmering water below, or simply make your own by placing your chocolate in a bowl (glass or stainless steel) and placing it over a saucepan set over low heat and containing about an inch of barely simmering water. For a water bath, simply make your own by filling a large heatproof pan (such as a rondeau pan) with about an inch of water and placing it over low heat. The water should feel hot but still allow you to dip your fingers into it without hurting. Place the bowl containing the chopped chocolate directly into the water and stir frequently to distribute the heat evenly.

A water bath is a gentler method because the water is much less hot and therefore what I prefer because of a lower risk of overheating and because it doesn’t require as much “baby sitting” when you’re multitasking in the kitchen (especially when you keep the water temperature at a fairly low setting). For either method, however, make sure you chop the chocolate into small, evenly sized pieces, stir your chocolate frequently, and test the temperature of the chocolate on occasion by dabbing a small amount on the outside center of your lower lip; it should never feel hotter than hot bath water, but it will melt at temperatures even lower than this. Remember that whichever option you choose, chocolate needs very low heat and frequent stirring. On a double boiler or in a water bath, dark, milk, or white chocolate will not get hot enough to burn the sugar in the chocolate but its highest temperature will reach about 190F (88C) if left for too long unattended, potentially altering the flavor of the chocolate.

How do you melt chocolate in the microwave?

A microwave is a perfectly acceptable method for melting small amounts of dark, milk, or white chocolate. Use a microwave-safe bowl, preferably a dedicated plastic bowl because it is less likely to retain too much heat. Each microwave has different power levels. You can set the power level on your microwave to low if you’d like, but if you prefer to not change the power level and use the default high setting just remember it’s critical to melt the chocolate in short durations just a few seconds at a time (such as 15 to 20 seconds). Remove the bowl and stir the chocolate at the end of each duration to ensure it heats evenly and isn’t overheating. It’s best to melt the chocolate only halfway and finish melting it outside of the microwave using the residual heat in the bowl to finish melting it. Chocolates are formulated differently and therefore each one will melt more or less quickly than the other, so it’s best to be conservative and go slowly to ensure the chocolate doesn’t overheat. Chocolate tends to hold its shape when it’s not stirred, even when it’s getting very hot, so be sure to stir it to keep track of how quickly it’s melting. Milk chocolate and white chocolate melt at lower temperatures and are more temperature sensitive, so be especially careful when melting them in the microwave.

Can couverture chocolate be used for baking?

Yes, it can. Couverture chocolate has a higher percentage of cocoa butter (cacao’s natural fat) than lower quality baking chocolates and some eating bars. What you have to remember is that each chocolate is its own little “package” of ingredients, offering fat, carbohydrate (sweeteners), and dry solids to your mixture. Recipes for layer cakes, sponge cakes, mousses, ganaches, and other baked items can be formulated to work with couverture chocolates if you take its ingredients and performance into consideration. Couverture chocolate is typically more expensive than noncouverture chocolate, but often the flavor and textures it offers are worth the few extra dollars, in most cases. It’s a matter of economics when you consider the cost of your ingredients versus what your baked good is intended for and what you want to achieve with it. Once a baked item is formulated for a specific chocolate, I recommends always using that same chocolate for that baked item to ensure consistent results.

Does couverture chocolate need to be tempered?

Yes, it does. Couverture (meaning to “coat” or “cover”) chocolate has a high percentage of cocoa butter, the natural vegetable fat from cacao (Its ideal application is for enrobing or molding because the additional fat makes it more fluid.) Cocoa butter is crystalline, containing several crystal forms that melt at different temperatures (referred to as “polymorphic”). In order to get the crystal forms to set properly after being melted, the chocolate must be tempered, which is a process of controlling the heating and cooling temperatures until certain crystal forms are present, causing the chocolate to harden properly with a shine and snap. Just melting the chocolate without paying attention to the process of tempering will result in “fat bloom,” and the chocolate will be more unstable with an undesirable texture and appearance.

Is white chocolate “real” chocolate?

Yes, it is! Why? Because the FDA has a legal definition of the product called “white chocolate.” To be labeled “white chocolate,” the product has certain minimum requirements it must meet (just like “sweet” and “milk” chocolates). White chocolate gets a bum rap because there are many low-quality off-the-shelf bulk confections that are available that resemble white chocolate but are not. These products are often overly sweet, chalky, and/or pasty in texture and do not contain flavorful dairy products that make them interesting. A real white chocolate (made by a good chocolate maker who pays close attention to quality and processes) can be delicious, with a buttery creaminess, balanced milky sweetness, and distinct flavor of cocoa butter. It’s quite satisfying when you have a craving for something sweeter! To learn more about the FDA’s definition of white chocolate read here.

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