melting chocolate question

[funhouse8]

Ok all you experts I want to know the best way to melt chocolate. I was thinking of doing it in my crock pot so i don't burn it. I tried to melt it ontop of the double burner last year and that didn't work so well. I'm covering rainbow cookies and want a smooth finish. Please help. They need to be done for tonight. thanks, Gina

 

[Miller1412]

Boil a pot of water on the stovetop and place a smaller saucepan in the boiling water. The chocolate will melt, but not burn. It will get crusty in a crockpot.

 

[mickeyboat]

I have asked this question a million times. I have gotten some great advice. But every time I try to melt chocolate, it siezes up on me. The only thing I have been able to work with is almond bark.

Good luck.

Denae

 

[funhouse8]

Boil a pot of water on the stovetop and place a smaller saucepan in the boiling water. The chocolate will melt, but not burn. It will get crusty in a crockpot.

This is what happened to me last year in the pot. What am I doing wrong? Should I add something to the chips?

 

[geffric]

I use Ghiradelli Chocolate it is called Candy making and dipping bar. I have bought it at SAMs.It is made to melt and use for dipping or fondue etc...You can melt the chocolate in the microwave and it is smooth and wonderful..

 

[hiwaygal]

Are you using regular semi-sweet chocolate chips (like for toll-house cookies)? If you are, that's part of the problem...as someone mentioned in another post, they are intended NOT to really melt much/smoothly so they can be baked in a cookie without melting.

If all you have are the chocolate chips, you can try adding a little shortening with them to keep them smooth, but really, your best bet is to either get some almond bark or I prefer the wiltons melting candy/chocolate.

 

[powellrj]

get regular melting chocolate and do it in the microwave. thats what I have the best luck with.

 

[LeCras]

Care must be taken when melting chocolate or you can easily end up with a grainy mess. The lighter the chocolate, the higher the chances of this happening. The most important thing to remember is that chocolate melts better and faster at lower temperatures. Never let your chocolate get above 115° F.
The best method is using a double boiler (one pot that holds the chocolate that fits over another which contains about an inch of simmering water). If you don't have a double boiler, you can use a heat proof bowl which is large enough to be suspended over a pot without its bottom touching the simmering water. Simmer the water over low heat and stir the chocolate often. Remove from the heat as soon as the chocolate is melted and stir until smooth.

Be extremely careful not to get any water (not even a drop) into the chocolate. Water will turn the chocolate into a grainy, lumpy mess. If this happens, you can add a little vegetable oil in order to make it smooth again, but this will affect the flavor.

What if your recipe calls for melting chocolate along with water or some other type of liquid? That's fine, as long as the liquid is mixed with the chocolate from the beginning of the melting process, it won't get grainy on you, (but adding even a drop in mid-melting will cause this problem).

Alternatively, you can melt chocolate in a dry oven. Place grated chocolate in a metal bowl and place it in an oven set at 110° F (if your oven doesn't go that low, use the lowest temperature and keep the door ajar). Your chocolate will melt in about an hour.

Hope that helps,

Charlotte

 

[Lynn CC]

I melt it in the microwave, but the trick is to NOT let it melt completely or it will burn. When it's almost all melted, take it out, and swirl it around with a spoon and it should all blend together!

 

[scanne]

If you want a smooth, shiny finish to your chocolate once it sets up, you have to temper it. Don't use chocolate chips - they're designed to hold their shape.

I would recommend a high quality chocolate like Valrhona - I've seen it at Trader Joe's. You could also use Baker's brand chocolate. To temper, you have to melt it to a certain temp, cool it, then re-melt it. I will do a search and post a link if I find the exact methods.

Here you go!
Tempering Real Chocolate
by Pam Williams


Over the next two lessons we are going the explore the production of chocolates. In this lesson we will look at the art of tempering real chocolate in order to enrobe assorted fillings and mold chocolate items in the following lessons. When purchasing chocolate, you have a choice of two different types of chocolate products: real chocolate or confectioners coating. Confectioners coating was developed by chocolate manufacturers to ease the enrobing process. The cocoa butter was removed from the chocolate and a vegetable oil, mainly palm kernel oil, was added. The product looks just like real chocolate but cannot be sold as such because it doesn't contain cocoa butter. There were two reasons for this replacement. Palm kernel oil is 1) cheaper than cocoa butter which makes volume chocolates more affordable, and 2) it allows the coating to enrobe or be molded without tempering. You can substitute a good quality confectioners coating for real chocolate in the recipes in the next three lessons and skip the tempering step. But if you want the flavour and texture of real chocolate, please continue to read about tempering.

Cocoa butter makes up anywhere from 50-60% of the real chocolate mass. The cocoa butter crystals remain in suspension with the cocoa powder or solids until the chocolate is heated. Once you have heated the chocolate, this suspension is broken and when the chocolate cools, the cocoa butter crystals rise to the surface producing white streaks or a gray dusting on the surface of the chocolate.

You've probably encountered chocolate with a dusty look. This means the chocolate was exposed to heat (a warm truck during shipping or a warm storage cupboard). While it won't really effect the taste of the chocolate, it does make for a unappetizing appearance.

Tempering returns the cocoa butter crystals to suspension within the chocolate mass and produces a chocolate with a dark glossy appearance and a firm consistency. There are many processes used for tempering but I have found the following to be most reliable. You will need a double boiler (I've used a metal bowl over a shallow sauce pan if a real double boiler wasn't available), a candy thermometer that will register low temperatures to 28ØC/82.4ƒF, a rubber spatula and at least one pound of semi-sweet, milk or white chocolate chopped into small pieces.

Melt 2/3 of the chocolate in the double boiler over hot, but not simmering, water that is not touching the bottom of the container holding the chocolate. (Remember, the biggest enemy of real chocolate is heat, so don't let the water get too hot.) Melt the chocolate until it reaches a temperature of approximately 45ƒC/113ƒF. Remove the top of the double boiler containing the chocolate and place it on a towel on the counter. Beat in the remaining 1/3 of chopped chocolate letting the mixture cool to approximately: 31ƒC/87.8ƒF for semisweet chocolate, 29ƒC/84.2ƒF for milk chocolate, and 28ØC/82.4ƒF for white chocolate. Mixture should be smooth and glossy. Hold at that temperature by moving the container on and off the hot water while you dip or mold your chocolates.

 

[amid chaos]

Melt it in the microwave at half power. stir every 30 seconds until it is JUST melted.

 

[Disneyrsh]

For baking, I've always nuked it, never had a problem. I agree, the secret is to not over nuke it. Do it for like, a minute, then stir it to check and see how it's melting.

Chocolate seizes because it has been exposed to water or burned. If you try and put any additives in chocolate, especially white chocolate where you add a liquid color, it will seize. Use powdered colors when melting white chocolate.

WHen the girls and I make candy, we use an electric griddle on the lowest setting, I put pieces of chocolate in little pyrex glass dishes, set them on the griddle, and wait a few minutes and voila, I have a wonderful panoply of melted chocolates in all diffferent colors and flavors, ready to go. My friend Felicia showed me how.

And the chocolate and the griddle aren't so hot that I worry about the kids getting scorched. It's still hot, but not freakishly so.