Seize (Chocolate)

Seizing is a counterintuitive chemical phenomenon that occurs when a very small quantity of water — even a few drops — comes into contact with melted chocolate. Cocoa particles in melted chocolate are suspended in cocoa butter, a fat medium. When water is introduced, the sugar and starch particles absorb it and become sticky, causing the cocoa solids to clump together into a dense, grainy paste rather than remaining dispersed in the fat. The result is a thick, dull, lumpy mass that cannot be poured or spread. Paradoxically, adding a large amount of liquid (roughly 1 tablespoon per 60 g / 2 oz of chocolate) can reverse or prevent seizing, because sufficient water dissolves the sugar fully and creates a fluid ganache-like emulsion rather than a sticky intermediate state. Steam from a bain-marie, condensation on a bowl, a wet spoon, or residual moisture in flavoring extracts are the most common causes. White and milk chocolate seize more readily than dark because their higher sugar and milk-solid content is more hygroscopic.

“The sauce broke the moment a drop of water fell from the lid of the bain-marie — the chocolate seized instantly into a stiff, grainy clump.”

• TechniqueTempering Chocolate
• TechniqueBain-Marie
• ConceptEmulsification

1. 1.On Food and Cooking — Harold McGee
2. 2.The Professional Pastry Chef — Bo Friberg
3. 3.Chocolates and Confections — Peter Greweling
4. 4.The Art of the Chocolatier — Ewald Notter

Confidence: high