Melting Chocolate Chips Perfectly

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Melting chocolate chips can be a disaster!  Do it wrong and you get a lump of grainy chocolate.

Not to worry.  My video will show you how to melt chocolate perfectly.

This method works for liquefying baking chocolate too.  But you'll need to break the bars into small pieces first. 

How To Melt Chocolate Chips

There's more than one way to melt a chip.  You could use the hot water method.  But you run the risk of getting water in your chocolate.

You don't want that!  The water will cause the chocolate to seize (harden).

You could use a saucepan to heat them on your cook top.  Doable. But that method takes longer.  Plus it's easier to burn/ruin them that way.

So let's reduce those risks by using the microwave to melt the chips.  It's fast and easy.

It's still possible to cause the chocolate to seize or burn but it's less likely! Especially if you carefully follow my helpful video.

Ok, time to take a look at... 

Recap Of The Video

Did you miss any of the info?  Not too worry!  Here are the steps to melting chocolate shown in the video...

1. Place chips in a dry micro-wave safe bowl
2. Microwave for 30 seconds on high
3. Remove from oven.  Notice the chips appear unchanged.
4. Stir them and see they've begun to soften.  Heat for another 20 seconds on high.
5. Remove from microwave. Chips are still holding their shape.
   
6. Stir.  Not completely melted?
7. Microwave 15 seconds on high.  Stir.  Still lumpy?
   
8. Microwave for 15 second intervals, stir and repeat till perfectly smooth.

Your chips should now be a smooth liquid chocolate ready for use. 

Did you end up with a hard gritty chocolate rock instead?  Oops, you heated them for too long!  You've created seized chocolate.   But...

We can fix that unless you burned it too.  If it's burned throw it out. :(

How To Fix Seized Chocolate

The good news is that the hard chocolate can be made soft and useable again!

The bad news is that it'll never be the same! 

But it can be saved.  So here's how...

• add vegetable oil or vegetable shortening, melted
  
• stir, breaking up the lumps, till liquefied

Your restored chocolate should look like this...

Unfortunately, it will be a bit gritty but useable.  Not perfect but you don't have to throw away your precious chocolate!  :)

How much oil/shortening should you use?

• 1 cup (6 ounces) of semisweet use 1 tablespoon oil or vegetable shortening. If more is needed add a drop or two at a time, then stir
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) use 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of oil or shortening
  
• More chocolate use more oil or reduce the amount of oil for less chocolate

Add the oil slowly so that you don't add more than you need.

Which cooking oils should you use?

• corn
• canola
• olive-my favorite
• any mildly flavored oil that contains no water

Never use butter, margarine or any spread because they contain water. 

Melting Chocolate Chips For Dipping

Interested in melting chocolate chips for dipping?  Well, the method is the same.  But there's an additional step.

The melted chips don't contain enough cocoa butter to be used as is.  The liquid chocolate is just too thick.  So you'll have to thin it.

What can you thin it with? 

Vegetable shortening works well.  Stir in 1 teaspoon of shortening for every 2 ounces of chocolate.

Remember the best day for dipping is when the humidity is low.  Humidity can make your liquid chocolate not want to flow.

So you may need to adjust the amount of shortening.

Working with chocolate can be a bit tricky.  When melting chocolate chips or baking bars don't rush.  A little extra time will save the quality of your chocolate.  Overheat it and it can be saved but it won't be the same!

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