Chocolate Funk - Cooking Chocolate Chips

Cooking Chocolate Chips

Why on earth would you consider cooking chocolate chips? You could say you're cooking chocolate chips when you bake them in chocolate chip cookies, breads or muffins. Or you can consider cooking chocolate chips the same thing as melting them. But when you're melting them, you have to be very careful.

Tips for Cooking Chocolate Chips

When you're cooking chocolate chips to make a fondue, there are some important things to remember:

Chocolate chips have a low melting point, and they hold their shape well. That's why it can be hard to tell when they are melted, making it easy to burn them. Therefore, you should melt them on low heat, like that provided by a double-boiler.
When using a double-boiler for cooking chocolate chips, make sure water from the bottom pan doesn't get into the top pan (the one with the chocolate chips in it). If it does (even one drop) it will cause the chocolate to seize--meaning it will scortch and become grainy, lumpy and hard. To avoid any kind of water from coming in contact with your chips, avoid humidity in the kitchen, steam and condensation. Also use only dry utensils to stir it.
Stir constantly, and when they are done melting, remove them from your heat source.
If you're melting your morsels in the microwave, use a clean, dry bowl and microwave for one minute, then stir. If your chips still retain their shape after being stirred, microwave an additional 10-15 seconds and stir again. Continue this just until they are smooth. (Bear in mind how easy it is to seize the chocolate. Don't overdo it.)

Keep these tips in mind when you're melting chocolate chips and you'll have perfect results every time.