How to fix seized or overheated chocolate

Have you ever been making a chocolate based treat involving melting chocolate and had the horror of it seizing up and becoming a stiff, grainy, lumpy mess? I have!  The worst thing is I rarely have chocolate spare to start over and in any case, what a waste it would be to bin it!

Never fear though, there is a way to save it and return it back to a smooth, satiny concoction.

I tend to find this happens when chocolate is heated too aggressively. Apparently chocolate is also prone to seizing when it comes in to contact with some kind of moisture during the melting process.  So, what do you do to save it if your chocolate seizes?

Funnily enough, it’s super simple. First boil some water. Second, very slowly, as in 1-2 tsp at a time add in the boiling water and whisk the chocolate vigorously until the mixture is smooth again. The hot water will essentially melt the clumps back to a liquid consistency.

I have pictured the various stages of unseizing here. First you will see the chocolate will start to loosen but it will still be very grainy.

Next it will start to look quite smooth but almost oily. Don’t worry, keep going, adding just a teaspoon of water at a time at this stage.

Finally you will see the chocolate revert to a smooth and runny consistency.

The chocolate will still be perfectly usable for sauces, drizzles or when I last did this I used mine as an awesome topping on a rocky road.  It will be diluted though and so I advise caution if planning to use it in baking.   I believe there are ways to try and save seized chocolate for baking by adding additional fats but I have not personally tried this.