Cooks' Question

When melting chocolate with a high cocoa content, why does it sometimes separate?

Response

Chocolate separating has nothing to do with the percentage of cocoa solids it contains – in fact, the purer the chocolate, the harder it is to split as there is no less or no additional fat beyond the existing cocoa butter specified in the cocoa solid volume. Most chocolate contains 35–75% cocoa solids. The two things that cause chocolate to separate are when water gets in to the chocolate being melted, which is why you have to be careful when melting chocolate over a pan of simmering water. However, butter, cream alcohol etc all contain water, so must be added with caution too when melting. Separation can also be caused by overheating when melting any chocolate containing additional fat to the cocoa butter. This means that plain chocolate with no additional fat is difficult to split, while milk and white chocolate are easy to split as they contain milk and other vegetable fat. To melt chocolate, fill a saucepan with about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water and sit a heatproof bowl (preferably Pyrex) snuggly on the top but do not allow the bottom of the bowl to touch the water. Break the chocolate up in the bowl, bring the water to a simmer and then remove the pan from the heat. Stir from time to time as the rising steam melts the chocolate. Alternatively, and this is the safest option, as no water can get in, melt it in the microwave at full power for short bursts, stirring in between. The first burst should be about 35 seconds, followed by bursts of 20 seconds until melted.

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