How to properly melt milk chocolate. How to melt chocolate: the best ways

Every housewife has probably thought about this question at least once in her life. Melted chocolate is used by confectioners to pour over cake or other sweet dishes. Often, ordinary girls do not know how to make a liquid treat smooth and beautifully shiny. We will talk about this in this article.

Which chocolate is better to use

Remember the most important thing: if you heat a cheap tile, beautiful chocolate icing you won't get. Therefore, choose quality tiles with a high cocoa content and no extraneous additives. Please note: good chocolate should not contain soy lecithin, but real cocoa butter.

Do not buy porous chocolates or those with fillers in the form of nuts, raisins and other additives. The air layer in porous chocolate interferes with uniform heating, so you can get burnt pieces on the bottom, and the top ones have not had time to melt yet. And chocolates with fillers will melt into an incomprehensible substance that can hardly be called melted chocolate.

When choosing a chocolate bar, pay attention to the wrapper. The mark of "confectionery" or "table" chocolate distinguishes a high-quality product. In addition, this chocolate is the easiest to work with.

For icing, couverture is best, natural chocolate with a high content of cocoa beans and a fine grind, which can be found in shops with a confectionery specialty. And if you want to decorate the cake with an inscription, the dessert one is perfect. milk chocolate.

Any type of chocolate is suitable for melting.

The ideal temperature for a black delicacy is 50 degrees, while for milk and white it is 45. If the temperature is exceeded, the chocolate mixture will begin to thicken and you will not achieve a liquid consistency.
Make sure that no water, steam or condensate gets into the mixture, this will spoil taste qualities and texture. Take only dry dishes and a spatula with which you will stir the mixture.
Uniformity can be achieved by breaking the tile into small pieces in advance.
Do not stop stirring the mixture, otherwise the mass will have a grainy texture.
To obtain liquid glaze dark chocolate, add warm cream or melted butter to the mass butter in the proportion of 1 tbsp. per 50 g of the product.
Do not try to dissolve the chocolate completely: it may burn. A better option is to remove it from the heat earlier and continue to stir the mass with a spatula. Then the unmelted pieces will dissolve themselves.

How to melt chocolate for icing

Melting chocolate so that it is liquid is very easy - follow simple advice. To pour the cake, you need liquid chocolate. Below you will find the basic methods for melting chocolate for both icing and cream.

Microwave is the fastest way

This method is ideal if you need to melt chocolate to decorate the cake with decorative elements: leaves, flowers, lace.

How to melt chocolate properly microwave oven?

Break the tile into pieces. Place in a suitable dish;
Turn on the stove to maximum power. After 25-30 seconds, stir and set for another half a minute;
You can melt the tiles in the defrost mode. Microwave for 2 minutes, then take out and stir. If you do not like the mixture to be too thick or if there are undissolved pieces left, set for another minute.

How to melt in a water bath

How to melt chocolate so that it turns out to be liquid and shiny? This method will work best.

First you need to prepare a bath. Pour water into a saucepan or saucepan and bring it to a boil.
We select the appropriate dishes. Choose one that you can put it on the pan. In this case, the bottom should not touch the water.
Break the selected chocolate into pieces and put in a bowl.
Add 20-30 g of butter or high-fat cream.
Constantly stir the mass with a wooden spatula, achieving a uniform texture and a completely liquid state. Never throw the mixture unattended.
As soon as the mixture becomes homogeneous, remove from the stove and proceed to cover the cakes or chocolate biscuit.

Melt chocolate in the oven or on the stove

You can melt tiles without using a water bath. The only feature is to choose a pan with a double bottom and turn on the stove on a minimum fire. Also, choosing this method, be prepared for the fact that you will not be able to move away from the stove even for a minute. You need to constantly stir the mass with a wooden spatula. Remember that chocolate melted in this way will be thick, so it is better to pour a small amount of cream or milk into it.

Remember that boiling is the main enemy of chocolate! If overheated, the mixture will stratify, and you will not be able to use it the way you wanted. Therefore, as soon as the chocolate melts, immediately remove it from the stove.

Even when you have already removed the mixture from the stove, stir it for a few more minutes.

Melting chocolate in the sun

In summer, the temperature sometimes rises to 45 degrees, so chocolate can melt in the sun. Leave the bowl with broken tiles in the sun for half an hour. But in the sun, the glaze will turn out thick, so if you want to get a liquid mass, it is better to choose another method.

Melting white chocolate

White chocolate is harder to work with than dark or milk chocolate. This is because it melts at lower temperatures, so girls often miss the moment when they need to remove it from the stove. As a result, the mixture overheats, and it becomes very difficult to save it. You can try to melt and white porous chocolate. The best option for melting white chocolate is a water bath.

Cut the chocolate into small pieces with a sharp knife. You can also rub the tiles on a grater;
Before melting, prepare a water bath. Make sure that there is enough space between the water and the bowl, they should not touch;
Place the cut pieces in a bowl. Stir constantly;
We remove from the stove when most of the tile has melted, but there are still small particles. This will ensure that the chocolate does not overheat or burn.

During the heating period, do not allow water and the resulting steam to enter the mass. This will damage the taste and texture, making the chocolate grainy and rough. Be sure to choose only dry dishes and a spoon with which you will stir the mixture.

Video on how to quickly melt chocolate

https://youtu.be/LZ_d0YdDliI

What to do if white chocolate has curdled?

You can save the chocolate mass as follows.

Remove from stove.
Add butter to the chocolate mixture, 1 tbsp. per 170 g of product. It is advisable to divide the oil into several pieces.

Instead of butter, you can use vegetable, warmed milk or cream.

Reconstituted chocolate mass is best used for sauce or dough. As a glaze or decor, it most likely will not work, because it will differ in texture.

How to melt chocolate for fondue

Classic fondue is a national Swiss dish, which is melted cheese spread on bread. There is also a sweet fondue option. This is melted chocolate, which is eaten with chopped fruits, marshmallows, berries, cookies. You can use any kind: bitter, milky, white. You can melt chocolate in a water bath by adding 1 tbsp. liquor and half a glass of milk for every 200 g of product. This is the ratio for dark chocolate. Milky and white will need a little less liquid. The finished mass can be poured into ceramic dishes and put over the candle so that it does not thicken.

How can but melt the chocolate for the chocolate fountain

If you plan to melt chocolate for chocolate fountain, special instructions must be followed.

Choice of chocolate

Special chocolate for fountains is best suited. It has a lower melting point, good fluidity, gloss, which ensures a high content of cocoa butter in the composition. Also, cocoa beans are finely ground, so you will significantly reduce the likelihood of the fountain breaking.

If you want to buy confectionery chocolate, you will need to dilute it with cocoa butter in a ratio of 1:10 (butter-chocolate).

Tiled types. It is undesirable to use bar chocolate for the fountain, especially with fillers. It can lead to a breakdown of the apparatus, besides, it is much more difficult to work with it, and many cannot bring the mass to the desired consistency. It is not recommended to dilute the chocolate mixture sunflower oil, it negatively affects the taste and appearance.

Chocolate mass. Now in stores you can find chocolate mass for fountains, which already contains oil (often sunflower). This option will not be fluid enough, which will affect appearance fountain.

You can melt chocolate in the following ways:

Water bath. We prepare a water bath so that the upper bowl does not come into contact with water. We divide the chocolate into pieces and wait for the dissolution of approximately 80% of all particles. Stir constantly throughout the process. When almost all the chocolate is melted, remove it from the heating device and continue to stir until all particles are completely dissolved.

Microwave. In a suitable dish, spread the broken chocolate and place in the microwave oven for 1-2 minutes. Once every half a minute it is necessary to open the oven and stir the product well.

Devices specially designed for melting. Basically, such devices are used for large volumes in professional fountains.

Do not cover the dishes with a lid so that drops of condensate do not flow into the mass.
Preheat the stove to room temperature, because sudden changes in temperature will adversely affect the texture.
If you are not satisfied with the density, pour not water into the mixture, but cream or softened butter.
You can add shine to the glaze with butter.

Do not exceed the optimal temperature indicator - the sweetness improperly processed with heat will turn out to be thick, stratified or taken in lumps. White chocolate needs a much lower temperature to melt. Here is the explanation of why the delicacy should be heated only in a water bath.

If you still overheated the mixture, do not immediately get rid of it. It is better to use this chocolate for a cake or for making cocktails.

By following all these tips, you will definitely be able to cook perfect dessert which will please you with taste and properties. Enjoy your meal!

Chocolate is not only delicious treat for children and adults, but also an important ingredient in many sweet dishes. It can be used as a filling for baking, added to drinks, made from glaze and much more. Alas, housewives often face a small but rather serious problem: how to melt chocolate in comfortable home conditions so that it does not lose its taste, and the dishes after culinary experiment did not go to the trash can? There are ways, and even more than one.

Melting chocolate bar: tricks and nuances

In order to make the simplest chocolate filling for donuts, a lot of skill is not needed. In general, only one quality is required from a sweet product in this case: a liquid form. A completely different matter is icing for a cake or fondue. For such purposes, you need a tender, homogeneous mass that does not have lumps or burnt candied pieces. So, you need to know how to melt chocolate correctly ... and what to do if a mistake was made during cooking. Here are just a few tricks to avoid unnecessary hassle:

Prepare everything before melting necessary ingredients and dishes: you will not have time to look for the missing product.
Before heating, crumble or cut the tile. The smaller the pieces, the faster it will melt. chocolate mass and the more homogeneous it will turn out.
Never pour water into chocolate. In order to make it liquid, add a piece of butter or half a teaspoon of heavy cream to the already melted, but not cooled down mass.
In this case, two conditions must be carefully observed. First, make sure the mixture does not boil: melted butter does not harden itself and does not allow the glaze to harden. Secondly, the mass should be hot, not warm, otherwise the fat will instantly curl into lumps, and your tender workpiece will lose its presentation.
Even when melted, chocolate can stick to the sides of the pan or thicken unevenly. To avoid this, don't forget to stir it from time to time - even after taking it off the heat.

Choosing chocolate to melt

Properly selected "raw materials" is an important part of a successful culinary experiment. Far from any chocolate you can make a confectionery masterpiece. So, if we bake cupcakes or a pie with sweet stuffing, then it is quite possible to stop at any product containing cocoa beans. But to make a crispy crust, you will have to choose something of a better quality.

There are some rules that will help you choose the right blank for melted chocolate:

Read the label carefully. The more cocoa butter in the confectionery product, the softer the structure of the hot mass will be.
To create a glossy finish, the couverture variety is ideal. True, its price is several times higher than the average. But the crisp, silky to the touch surface that forms when it hardens pays for any costs.
Different uses require different blanks. So, for the inscriptions on the cake, it is better to choose confectionery chocolate, which becomes viscous and viscous when melted. But for icing, a dessert variety is much more suitable: when heated, it turns into a liquid mixture and hardens with a flat surface, without waves and streaks.
Porous varieties, even of the highest quality, are absolutely not suitable for melting.
The best option, regardless of the variety, is dark or milk chocolate without filling. Nuts or raisins are good on their own, but when heated, they are more problems than good.
And, of course, you should not take too cheap products. For the most part, they have a very low content of cocoa beans, and the palatability leaves much to be desired.

Steam melting

Of all the methods of melting chocolate at home, using steam is the most convenient and reliable, as it gives optimal temperature: 60 - 80⁰С. You will need:

metal (but not aluminum!) or glassware - for example, a bowl or a small saucepan;
a deep saucepan of the same or slightly smaller diameter;
spatula or spoon on a long handle.
Boil a small amount of water in a saucepan and place a bowl with pre-shredded tiles on it so that there are no gaps between the walls of the two vessels. The main condition is that the confectionery product melts exclusively in steam, without water touching the walls of the dish.

Do not forget that in order to achieve a delicate consistency, the mass must be constantly stirred. In general, the process takes 3-4 minutes.

Important! Do not cover the dish with a lid to avoid getting steam on the chocolate. If this happens, it will acquire a grainy consistency and will not harden to the desired state.

Water bath

This method is not as profitable as the previous one - but it is simpler. It also needs two heat-resistant containers: one slightly wider than the other. Pour some water into the pan and when it boils, dip the smaller bowl of chocolate into it. You need to carefully monitor the melting of sweets, constantly stirring it with a spatula: due to the high temperature, the sticky mass can easily stick to the walls.

How to melt chocolate in the sun

Summer is the perfect time for sweet berry desserts, many of which need a gooey, gooey coating of cocoa beans. You can make it by melting a confectionery tile in the sun.

The trick is that the normal melting point of high-quality chocolate starts from 35-40⁰С. Therefore, room temperature on a hot day is enough not to waste effort on exercising with a gas stove.

Grind the product and place it on the windowsill or balcony. Already after 30-40 minutes you will get a thick chocolate mass.

Can you melt chocolate in the microwave?

There is no definite answer to this question. On the one hand, the structure of chocolate is such that microwaves heat it up in exactly the same way as other foods. On the other hand, it is almost impossible to prepare high-quality soft glaze in this way.

It takes about 2 minutes for the microwave to melt the chocolate bar. During this time, the thick paste will have time not only to melt, but also to curl up in lumps. So this method can only be used if you need chocolate exclusively for the filling. If you want it to be soft and homogeneous, you will have to set a timer for 30 seconds, take out the dishes, stir the sweet mass and put it back in the microwave. You will have to repeat these steps 4-5 times. This is quite troublesome, but doable - especially if you do not have the opportunity to use steam or a water bath.

Be careful, especially if you are making frosting. Incorrectly melted chocolate cannot be frozen and remelted. In case you make a mistake, the sweet mass will remain, unless you put it in a less whimsical dish or eat it with a sandwich.

In contact with

If for the first time you decided to surprise your loved ones with a confectionery masterpiece made from chocolate, then you should get to know this product better. And what is important with its features and possible surprises that chocolate can present with its inept use.

Methods for melting chocolate
Not everyone can melt chocolate properly. Many people face problems related to the consistency of chocolate, its premature setting, etc. To avoid all these troubles that can happen at the most inopportune moment, you need to carefully familiarize yourself with the technology of melting chocolate.

So, let's begin. First way
Grind the chocolate so that the pieces are as uniform in size as possible. This is necessary for uniform thermal exposure; place the prepared chocolate pieces in a clean and DRY container (bowl, saucepan); Place the container over a saucepan of simmering water so that the bottom of the bowl of chocolate does not touch the water. Thus, we create a steam bath. Stirring, we monitor uniform heat treatment; after the chocolate has melted well, it can be removed from the steam bath and used for its intended purpose.

It's important to know!
The volume of the bowl with chocolate should not be less than the pot of water, otherwise the steam will penetrate into the chocolate. And this will already spoil the quality of the melted product. If water or steam gets into the mass, the chocolate will begin to harden and lose its elastic properties.

Do not cover the melted chocolate with a lid to avoid condensation.

The spoon with which you will stir the chocolate should also be dry. Because a drop of water can bring an unpleasant surprise.

If desired or necessary, you can add butter to the chocolate mass (according to the recipe) or coat the pan with it for more convenient removal of chocolate from the container and easy washing.

The temperature of melted chocolate should not exceed 50 degrees.

Second way
This method is used to melt dark chocolate. Chopped chocolate must be put in a saucepan and placed in the oven at the lowest temperature. Keep for 8-10 minutes.

Third way
If you need chocolate mass to be mixed with other ingredients, and not for brushing or pouring, then chocolate can be easily and quickly melted in the microwave. To do this, the temperature regime and power must be minimal. The most suitable is the "defrost" function. In no case do not overheat the chocolate, that is, do not overexpose it in the microwave, otherwise it will quickly thicken.

What kind of chocolate is better to use for melting. How to melt chocolate properly
It is known that chocolate can be black, white, milk and porous. Each of them is good in its own way. However, not all types of chocolate can be used for melting.

Here, for example, it is better not to use porous chocolate for kindling, it is difficult to heat and, as a result, it is impossible to achieve the desired consistency and quality of the chocolate mass.

To get a high-quality chocolate mass, you must choose pure chocolate (without nuts, raisins and other impurities).

White chocolate is an excellent art material. It can be used as decoration of all kinds confectionery. White chocolate can even be tinted to your desired color. To do this, it must be melted in a steam bath, as described above. Add some vegetable oil and food (liquid or gel) coloring. By the way, gel dye is added to the mass in the amount of 2-3 drops per 100 grams of chocolate. Mix quickly and use as directed.

For the manufacture of confectionery masterpieces, the main types of chocolate are usually used - these are special culinary chocolate, dessert (table), couverture and fudge.

Culinary chocolate is the most popular and affordable. Its varieties are distinguished by the presence of cocoa butter in them. The taste, color and density of chocolate directly depends on the amount of this same oil.

Dessert chocolate is very convenient in confectionery applications, but it has a thick consistency when kindled. It is better not to use it as a glazed coating.

Couverture is the most expensive type of chocolate. It has a significant content of cocoa butter. When melted, it has a smooth, shiny texture. That allows you to use it in various directions and make real confectionery masterpieces.

Fudge, in turn, has the lowest content of cocoa butter, but it is very convenient in the preparation of all kinds of confectionery.

Anyone who has ever thought about making beautiful chocolate decorations or homemade chocolate candies, usually broke off at the stage of tempering chocolate. First, a marble table was required. Where can I get a marble table? In the ritual service, they told me sarcastically. Well, thanks ... And then. It is necessary to heat the chocolate to 45C, cool to 26C and heat again to 31C. In general, a nightmare.

And if the chocolate is not tempered, then it is dull, instantly melts, not hard, granular, with stains, tasteless. You can't get it out of the molds it's been poured into.

And so I just now rummaged through the Internet, studied the tempering of chocolate. My vigilant concern for the students, who would have to somehow make life easier in terms of tempering, did not give me peace. At least without a marble table to do!

And I came across a video about tempering from the Callebaut company. Which, as everyone knows, is one of the world leaders in the production of chocolate. What I saw shocked me. It turns out that to get tempered chocolate, you do not need to temper it at all! No marble tables, no heating and fast cooling! Honestly, I watched the video twice to make sure I understood correctly. And then she ran to try, because she did not believe it. It turned out EXCELLENT!

So, about this method of obtaining tempered chocolate, I have one good and one bad news.

The good news is, yes, tempered chocolate is made in one step without chilling and reheating. Melted and everything.

The bad news is that you still need a thermometer. And it’s better not to have a needle thermometer, with which you check the readiness of steaks or measure the temperature of sugar syrup. It is better to take a pyrometer - a non-contact thermometer. It produces results much faster. With my needle, the correct result is obtained in a minute, and with a pyrometer, in two seconds. I bought a pyrometer in Leroy Merlin, it cost 1880 rubles.

The method in short. We take tempered chocolate and melt it so that its temperature does not exceed 30C for white, 32 for dark and 34 for dark chocolate. All.

So. We take professional chocolate. It is professional, chocolate bars in supermarkets are intended for eating and are not tempered. Chocolate in kalets (medals) is convenient. If you have chocolate in a large bar, then you need to chop it into small, small pieces.

We take chocolate, pour it into a bowl, and microwave at maximum power for 30 seconds. After that, most of the chocolate will still be solid. We repeat the procedure, mix. This is where the chocolate melts. You can measure its temperature, you get 26 degrees. Then we go in portions of 10 seconds. Got it - mixed it up. You need to stop at the moment when ALMOST all the chocolate is melted, and its temperature reaches the limit for this type of chocolate. For example, we melt milk chocolate. Here it is 32 degrees. But there are still a lot of unmelted pieces! Stir, rubbing the unmelted pieces against the walls. After that, you can warm up literally another 5 seconds in the microwave. You can punch with a blender.

To check if we succeeded, daub our melted chocolate on the table or on any other cool surface. If the chocolate hardened in less than 1 minute, then everything turned out !!

Now we need to keep the chocolate at this temperature while we work with it. Well-tempered chocolate sets instantly! While you are enthusiastically writing out chocolate patterns. everything has already set in the bowl 🙂 there are two ways to maintain the temperature of the chocolate. The first method is a hot hair dryer. Just blow on the surface of the chocolate and it melts. Method two. bowl with hot water from the tap. Place the bowl of chocolate in a bowl of hot water for 10 seconds, stir the chocolate, take out the bowl of chocolate. Don't forget, we must never exceed the temperature limit! And the water must not get into the chocolate, everything will go bad!

If you overheated the chocolate. Well, it happens to everyone. Add a handful of unmelted calets and blitz with a blender until the chocolate is below the temperature limit. But this only works if it is literally a couple of degrees overheated. If it’s too much, write wasted, you’ll have to temper it in a complicated way: heat it, cool it quickly, heat it up again.

Why does this method work without tempering? The funny thing is that professional chocolate is sold already tempered. That is, it has the correct crystal structure. And if we melt it so as not to exceed the temperature at which the chocolate loses this structure, then the chocolate will remain tempered! That is, all we need is not to break the crystal structure of tempered chocolate by overheating! Moreover, with this method, at some point, most of the chocolate melted, but there were still lumps, remember? These lumps are nothing but chocolate crystals. They have the right texture and the melted chocolate starts to crystallize around them.

I anticipate your question. Can this be done in a water bath without a microwave? I'm not sure, but you can try.

I forgot to say. The temperature in the kitchen when working with chocolate should be 18-20C. it should be cool. Otherwise, nothing will freeze properly. And further. Do not put the chocolate in the refrigerator to harden, it will lose its luster.

In general, cheers! I put on decor, I'm happy as an elephant. I'll still be tomorrow. Liked.

Many delicious things are prepared from this magical product - Sho-Ko-Lad. It is drunk liquid with cinnamon, rum and cream, it is used to cover cakes, it is used in cakes and crispy figurines are made. But how to melt chocolate to be liquid?

You need to choose the right product: the best - with large quantity cocoa butter, no nuts, waffles, raisins or toppings. Do not take porous chocolate - it is not suitable for melting.

The basic method for making liquid chocolate – in a water bath.

You need to break the tile or chop it with a wide knife. Let the pieces be approximately the same for uniform heating and melting.
Take heat-resistant dishes with non-stick coating. It must be completely dry. It is advisable not to use aluminum bowls and ladles - the chocolate mass in them will become an ugly grayish color.
Boil water in a separate saucepan. The bottom and sides of the container with chocolate should not touch boiling water. If its width is smaller than the size of the pan, you can wrap the dishes in a towel. For the same reason, the bowl with the product does not need to be covered with a lid.
To melt the product completely enough temperature 55 - 85 degrees.If you overheat dark chocolate, it will harden after hardening and will be bitter. White and milk melt faster than black, but when overheated, they lose their properties and taste. When chocolate melts over boiling water or over medium, high heat, the process is fast, but uneven. And later the mass will become too thick and lumpy.
After the bowl of chopped chocolate is placed over hot water, you need to constantly stir the pieces so that they melt gradually. Melt chocolate slowly

Advice. If you need to get hot drink, heated (but not boiling) cream is added to the broken pieces. To get started - in a small amount, then - gradually topping up. If you add boiling cream to melted chocolate, their temperature may not be the same, and the chocolate will separate, releasing butter.

Another way- melt chocolate in the microwave.

The tile is broken or the so-called chocolate chips are used.
Put in a ceramic bowl in the oven for 25 seconds (medium power).
Then gently mix and return to the oven. They do this until everything melts completely.