"Melting chocolate is not rocket science as long as
you have patience and use gentle heat," declares food editor Amy Mastrangelo.
And she would know, having melted pounds of the stuff to create the
chocolate desserts for "Cocoa Dreams" (see link at right).
If you are dealing with a thick hunk of chocolate, use a serrated knife to chip off chunks,
then chop them with a chef's knife.
The process may seem laborious, but the fact is that
smaller pieces melt more quickly and evenly.
When you're ready to start melting, make sure your utensils are perfectly dry � a single drop of water will sabotage the chocolate and make it seize into a recalcitrant mass. The two most popular melting methods are microwaving and a double-boiler arrangement on the stovetop. Mastrangelo is a big fan of microwaving, as are many pastry chefs. Put the chocolate, chopped or broken into small pieces, in a microwave-safe bowl and zap it at 50 percent power. (We used an 800-watt oven.) For 2 to 4 ounces of chocolate, begin checking after 2 1/2 minutes; for 5 to 8 ounces, begin checking after 3 minutes. Don't be fooled by how the chocolate looks at this point: It will appear intact (see photo, right top), but a single stir with a rubber spatula will reveal that it's on its way to a molten state. If, after stirring, there are still unmelted bits, zap it again at 10- to 15-second intervals (still at 50 percent power), then stir again. (For milk chocolate, which is a bit more temperamental than its darker cousin, shorten the initial time by 30 seconds and the intervals to 5 to 10 seconds.) And don't forget that chocolate scorches easily; if at any point the bowl feels hot, let it stand (stir the chocolate occasionally) about 1 minute to see if residual heat will finish the job.
If using a double boiler, make sure the water in the bottom pan isn't touching the top pan (see photo, right bottom), and check the water occasionally � it shouldn't go above a bare simmer. When improvising with a metal bowl set over a saucepan of water, select a bowl and pan combination wide enough so that the part of the bowl holding the chocolate is completely within the mouth of the pan.