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How to Melt Chocolate
When melting chocolate you will need to be careful with not allowing it to heat up too much, and to not let the vapor circulate around it since instead of melting the chocolate, you will just end up with a solid mass. The easiest way to melt chocolate is by breaking it up in little pieces and placing it in a baking dish. Then place the baking dish (a metal or heat resistant one) over a casserole of water making sure the vapor does not escape in between the casserole and on the edges of the baking dish. Heat the water slowly until it is very hot; then take the casserole off of the heat and allow the chocolate to melt with the heat of the casserole alone, while at the same time stirring it constantly. Keep in mind that you should not let the water come to a boil.
If you are only trying to melt a small amount of chocolate, you can do this by placing small pieces of them in strong zip lock bag and close it hermetically and then submerge it in a casserole of hot water until the chocolate melts. After this is done you can cut a corner of the bag with some scissors and then squeeze the chocolate out of the bag.
Melting chocolate in the oven does not give the best results since usually the chocolate heats up too much. However you can achieve good results by using a microwave. To do this break the chocolate in small pieces and place it in a bowl and put it inside the microwave at medium heat. For 110 grams of chocolate, use a half liter bowl, and let it heat up for around two minutes.
If the chocolate were to become hard and difficult to handle, this can be fixed by adding a small amount of vegetable oil if you are intending to use it for mousses or pastries, but if you are wanting to use it as a decoration or a garnish, this is not a very practical thing to do since the chocolate will not get hard again.
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