On Thu, 19 May 2005, maxine in ri wrote:

> I'm no expert when it comes to cooking with chocolate, just follow the
> directions and it works, mostly.
>
> Someone was telling me about a recipe she had that seized. It called
> for baking chocolate and margarine. One person advised her not to use
> margarine because it has water in it and that was why the chocolate
> seized.
>
> But I got to thinking, ganache uses cream and butter, both of which
> have some water content.
>
> Any help understanding the "chemistry" here would be appreciated.
>
> maxine in ri
>


I don't know if this is what you need... I was just sitting here reading
this group and watching "Good Eats" with Alton Brown on the Food Network.
The whole show was about chocolate (what it is, how it is handled, and
what can go wrong and why). I wish I had paid more attention. But he did
say that if you melt it in a double boiler, and if one drop of the water
drops into the chocolate, it will be a big {sorry don't remember the exact
word) "glob" - esque and it will be ruined. Is that what "seizing" is (a
big glob you have to throw away?)

He used pats of butter in melting choc for several different recipes -
including
the ganach you mentioned. He used milk, cream and brandy, all of which has
some water content.

The chemistry lady that guests on his show was there talking about the
molecular structure of chocolate. She said when melting, keep the heat
about 92 degrees (90 to 94 degrees) to keep the structure from changing.

Alton said to melt chocolate in microwave. Zap for 10 seconds and stir;
repeat over and over until chocolate begins to melt, then zap for 5
seconds and stir; repeat until chocolate is melted, (He did add butter to
it in the beginning).

He also melted chocolate in a bowl set in a heating pad set in a bigger
bowl.

If you get the Food Network, check it out. If not, check out
WWW.foodnetwork.com

I don't have a clue if any of this helps or not.

Elaine, too