Melted chocolate is an undoubted crowd-pleaser, whether you love it drizzled on popcorn, used to enrobe decadent truffles, or served as a silky fondue. That said, chocolate is notoriously fussy about how it converts to liquid form, and anyone who has had it seize up on them may feel apprehensive about taking another shot. In lay terms, chocolate that has seized is a gloopy, sticky, lumpy, or clumpy mess, thanks to the coagulation of cocoa particles.
This highly unpleasant phenomenon can be traced to two main causes. One is overheating your chocolate, which causes the cocoa particles to clump together — hence the need for low heat and double boiler setups. The second is due to the introduction of moisture, be it drops of water or a waft of steam.
Fortunately, there's a tip that can keep you from making a critical error on that front, and it couldn't be simpler. When you're gearing up to melt some chocolate, just take a little extra time to be sure your tools are completely dry. This simple strategy will address one of the causes of chocolate seizing and save you from future cocoa catastrophes.
Why moisture matters to melting Chocolate seizes when it's exposed to moisture because water melts the sugar, effectively turning it into syrup. When this happens, it leaves behind cocoa particles that will cling together, creating clumps and preventing the smooth texture you're aiming for when melting chocolate. By thoroughly (even fanatically) drying every piece of equipment that wil.
