Why does my chocolate seized

Surprisingly, the addition of more liquid can actually reverse the seizing and bring the chocolate back to a fluid state. Reversing the reaction means adding just enough water or other liquid to dissolve most of the sugar and cocoa particles in the seized chocolate clumps.

The water will dilute the chocolate slightly, so it can no longer reliably be used for baking. Use it instead for making chocolate sauce or hot chocolate or drizzling on cookies. But I added some cacao butter pellets around pieces , one by one, and it slowly went back to a smooth state. I read your article desperately one day when I was making Chinese noodle drop cookies. My chocolate chips seized and I was frantically looking for something to save it.

I spotted sour cream in my fridge and thought….. So I put some of that in and voila; shiny smooth chocolate. Hopefully it works. If not, oh well. It was fun learning about the science behind cooking.

Hey, thank you so much for these hacks!! I used them when my melted chocolate seized while making some almond chocolates. I added some oil and some cream to it stirring continuously. It helped to some extent..

Luckily I found your post. Slowly stirred in about 4 TBSP of coconut oil in solid form. The coconut oil melted into the grainy chocolate lump, and she was back in business with creamy smooth white chocolate.

Hi, very late to the party here but hopefully someone will be able to help me out here. I made chocolates a few days ago melting it in the microwave in short intervals and poured them into molds and put in the fridge. When they were set I took them out tried them and they tasted perfect.

I left them in a bowl in the fridge for a couple of days and noticed they seemed a bit wet with condensation or something and they were a bit sticky. I took them out and have been storing them in an airtight box at room temperature but they taste grainy now.

Can water affect them after they set? Well, it happened to me recently and this is why. S eizing occurs when moisture is added to chocolate. When chocolate is melted, its main ingredients: cocoa powder, sugar, and cocoa butter, break up and disperse evenly, creating a smooth and fluid consistency. However, when melted chocolate comes into contact with water, the dry particles become moist and begin to stick together, quickly forming a gritty, rough mass of chocolate.

If even a tiny amount of moisture is introduced, the liquid and the sugar will form a syrup to which the cocoa particles will cling, thereby creating grainy clumps. In fact, adding any cold liquids to melted chocolate can cause it to seize and form a grainy paste. How much liquid it actually takes to trigger this reaction depends mostly on the amount of chocolate and its sugar content. Chocolate will seize if any liquid that contains water manages to find its way into the melted chocolate.

Unfortunately, if you are using the chocolate to make chocolate bars or as a coating, once it has seized it is too late. But all is not gone as you can put the chocolate to use in other ways. The seized chocolate can be used as a sauce, for drinking, or for any recipe where you need to add butter or liquid such as a ganache.

Surprisingly, seizing is caused by water, but more water can actually fix it. If the melted chocolate has become thick and clumpy, adding more liquid will help to dissolve the dry particles sugar and cocoa and help it to become fluid again. Adding water to chocolate is the equivalent to adding water to flour.

Preventing seizing is easy. Here are a few things to be aware of:. Be careful when using a double boiler to melt chocolate, because the steam from the hot water can cause your chocolate to seize.

Be aware of the utensil you are using to stir your melted chocolate. Make sure that it is dry, especially when using a wooden spoon. Wood has a tendency to hold in moisture that can escape into the chocolate when you are stirring it. So be sure that if your utensil is wooden, that it is completely moisture free. Also, it is not recommended that you use a wooden utensil if you are using a double boiler.

The wooden spoon will soak up the steam and place it into your chocolate. Anything with a water base will cause your chocolate to seize.

Food coloring, for example, is a useful tool to cause your chocolate to seize. If you would like to color your chocolate, then an oil-based food coloring is recommended. Chocolate can also seize if it is scorched. Be aware of the temperature you are heating it to. Always be sure to use a candy thermometer and these simple heating instructions.