Ask Lisa: Microwaving prevents chocolate from seizing

Q: I'm trying to make a recipe for chocolate raspberry bars with white chocolate and almonds. It calls for white-chocolate chips, melted. I tried twice to melt the chips in a double boiler.

They seized the first time, so the second time I added 2 tablespoons of butter but had the same problem. I didn't have any trouble melting regular chocolate chips in the same double boiler for another recipe. What am I doing wrong?

— Joyce Rybak, Upper Arlington, Ohio

A: Typically, chocolate seizes, or clumps, when a small amount of water from steam gets into it. You might have had the heat too high under the double boiler so that the water was actually boiling instead of simmering, allowing some steam to escape and get into the chocolate. All it takes is a drop of water to turn chocolate from velvet to paste.

In the future, don't use butter as the "fix" because it too contains plenty of water. Instead, try a tablespoon of vegetable shortening or vegetable oil.

Or use the microwave, which is a more reliable method of melting chocolate. Place chocolate in a bowl, uncovered, and microwave at 50 percent power for 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each interval.

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