|
 |
Chocolate
|
|
|
|
|
|
 TO
FIX SEIZED CHOCOLATE:
As
an emergency measure only, stir in 1 level tablespoon solid vegetable
shortening for each 6 ounces of chocolate you are melting. (6 ounces is
equal to 1 cup baking chips or 6 1-oz squares of baking chocolate) |
Seizing is ...
when the chocolate you are
melting suddenly becomes grainy and firms up, looking like a dull, thick paste.
Chocolate is
composed of fine, dry particles (cocoa and sugar) and fat (cocoa butter).
When you melt chocolate, a few drops of water or
even steam will moisten the dry particles and cause them to stick together and
form a dull, dry, grainy mass, called seizing.
Once your chocolate seizes, it can no longer be
used for tempering, because it is no longer considered pure. Don't throw it out
-- use in baking recipes or chocolate
sauce.
Seizing can happen for a couple of reasons:
1.
A small amount of moisture has been added to the melting chocolate.
Chocolate is very finicky about liquids. Even
the tiniest amount of liquid-a single drop of water, the moisture clinging to a
just-washed strawberry or just washed wooden spoon, or the steam from a double
boiler that gets too hot, will cause this kind of damage to your chocolate.
To avoid having your chocolate seize, become moisture
adverse. This is how:
|
 | If using a double boiler, keep the water to a simmer,
not a rolling boil so it won't splash onto the chocolate |
|
|
| Don't use a wooden spoon to stir melted chocolate
because it could hold moisture. |
|
|
| The heat-proof glass or metal bowl you are using to
melt the chocolate in must be DRY. |
|
|
| Do not even place a cover over the bowl or the
container of chocolate. Moisture will condense on the inside of the lid,
and cause seizing. |
|
2. Cool liquids have been added to the
melting chocolate. Another oddity about chocolate: small
amounts of liquid can spoil melted chocolate, but large amounts are okay, so
long as the liquid is warmed to match the temperature of the melted chocolate.
If you add cold cream or milk, for example, the chocolate will begin to solidify
and you'll end up with a mess. Instead, properly warm liquids before adding to
the chocolate.
3.
Chocolate was overheated during
melting or tempering
Chocolate is so sensitive to rapid
temperature changes, such as melting under high heat.
|
| |
