Confessions of a chocolate hater (AKA how to melt white chocolate without tearing all your hair out)

No Recipe Forum
1

I like eating it, but man do I hate working with it. I finally figured out how to treat white chocolate like baby and am passing along this info in case you’re having trouble with it too. Pictured: successful finished product!

Instructions say:

  • “melt in microwave in 20 second increments” < NO, it will seize
  • “melt in microwave on 50% power in 20 second increments” < NO, it will seize. Works ok for non-white chocolate though.
  • “melt in double boiler over stove, stirring occasionally” < NO, it will seize.

…BUT This is the the only thing that worked for me:

Start melting in double boiler over stove, ensuring the pot is on a quiet simmer only. Every 20 seconds or so take the top bowl off the heat entirely and stir and give it a few seconds to cool a bit, then return to heat. Take it off while there’s still a few lumps in it and just stir to smooth those, otherwise it’ll seize.

Also make sure there’s no water in the bowl or on the spoon (including condensation from the double boiling), or it’ll seize. Also make sure you’re using bar baking chocolate and not white chocolate chips, or it’ll seize. Also make sure the moon is in the 7th house and it’s not an even-numbered Tuesday, or it’ll seize :unamused:

confessions-of-a-chocolate-hater-aka-how-to-melt-white-v0-5y88s3mmm97e1
confessions-of-a-chocolate-hater-aka-how-to-melt-white-v0-5y88s3mmm97e11080×810 208 KB

2

You forgot to add you can only stir with your left hand counter clockwise, or it’ll seize.

3

Ellison said:
You forgot to add you can only stir with your left hand counter clockwise, or it’ll seize.

Oh yes good call forgot that one. But you have to add one clockwise stir after every 10 counterclockwise.

4

@Wynn
Or it will seize.

5

@Wynn
You also might want to be smart and balance on one foot while doing all that stirring otherwise well it will seize.

6

It must be done during a full moon. Everyone knows that!

7

Add a little oil if it starts to seize. It will come right back.

8

Until this post, I thought I was the only one trying and consistently failing to melt white chocolate.

Armed with your method, the additional tips shared here, and a great heap of luck, I might maybe possibly be able to do it one time. (But probably not.)

9

@Kiran
I went through four scalded lumps of misery in different brands and techniques before I got here, so I am hopeful this will save someone else some trouble! Good luck :slight_smile:

10

Wynn said:
@Kiran
I went through four scalded lumps of misery in different brands and techniques before I got here, so I am hopeful this will save someone else some trouble! Good luck :slight_smile:

Which brand did you eventually have luck with? I’ve been baking for 20+ years, have sold baked goods professionally, can make pastry and breads, etc but I CANNOT melt white chocolate to a drizzling consistency to save my life.

11

@Clove
I feel your pain! The one that worked for these bars was Ghirardelli white chocolate baking bar.

12

Wynn said:
@Clove
I feel your pain! The one that worked for these bars was Ghirardelli white chocolate baking bar.

Thanks!

13

Wynn said:
@Kiran
I went through four scalded lumps of misery in different brands and techniques before I got here, so I am hopeful this will save someone else some trouble! Good luck :slight_smile:

Thanks! Fingers crossed for us all!

14

Drake said:
Also never use a wooden spoon!

Or it will seize!

15

White chocolate only melts and does not seize only on Leap Year.

16

@Van
Yeah, I was surprised and annoyed at how long it took to find baking white chocolate that wasn’t in weird chip form with extra stabilizers and things, and I even have a lot of stores to choose from in the area.

17

@Van
This is the answer. In the industry we usually used callebaut or valrhona white chocolate and melts like a dream. Specifically for melting you want to look for coverture.

18

@Van
This person chocolates.
Here in Europe courvertures are everywhere, even in the fruit shops. I always knew they were used for baking in some capacity as they are usually packed bigger and cheaper but did not know they were designed for optimum melting.

19

@Wynn
I’m very curious: what brand(s) did you like best?

20

Kiran said:
@Wynn
I’m very curious: what brand(s) did you like best?

Honestly it wasn’t even a question of “best”, just “the only thing available anywhere that wasn’t a chip” :sob: I ended up using Ghirardelli white chocolate baking bar on the batch that worked.