Best Lab Equipment

Here are some more information for Waterbath Water:

Cooking and Kitchen Tips

A small and easy steps can save from lots of huss and fuss in the kitchen. Knowledge on low-fat basic cooking tips is a great way to help make the foods that your family loves without sacrificing the quality of the recipe. I have always loved to made banana bread for my family. Though it is an excellent recipe but the recipe calls for 1/2 cup of oil. I detested the adding of all that fat to the recipe and worried about the health of my family. Therefore I quit making the bread. Though my family complained but I'm more worried about their health than I did their complaints. Recently I found out that it is possible to replace with 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce for the oil in my banana bread recipe. Miraculously, the banana bread is moist, flavorful and no one in my family could taste the dissimilarity. Great and easy way. Isn't it?

Waterbath

Using a waterbath in baking, cooking or warming recipes consists of placing a container for example, a pan, bowl, ramekins or soufflé dish of a recipe or food in a large, shallow pan of warm water either in an oven or on a stovetop. The water surrounds and protects delicate foods from direct heat, allowing it to be prepared "low and slow". The French call this cooking technique au bain marie (bahn mah-ree). The name originated in the 14th century, when it denoted a utensil first used in alchemy.

Stovetop Waterbath

An oven or on a stovetop waterbath is typically used with delicate foods and egg-based desserts, such as custards or cheesecakes and egg-based sauces, that would curdle, break, crack or scorch under too much heat. The lower temperature prevents the egg proteins in the recipe from toughening when exposed to high temperatures. It also helps to prevent overcooking them which causes the egg proteins to overcoagulate and shrink when cooled, the classic cause of cracking in recipes! A waterbath also prevents crust formation on a custard or other egg-based dessert. With it, you also get a cheesecake recipe that is creamy almost custard-like, moist and rich.

A stovetop waterbath is used when melting or tempering chocolate because it can burn easily from direct heat. Stirred custards are cooked in a waterbath on a stovetop, as well as delicate and egg based sauces or when heating egg whites or yolks.

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Chocolate not melting right?

I just melted some chocolate using a hot waterbath and it didn't come out right. I used one bar of Milk chocolate and half a bar of dark chocolate. I boiled water in a pot and covered it with a ceramic bowl holding the chocolate. At first it was melting smooth and creamy and then it started to get clumpy and it started to separate. In an effort to rescue my chocolate i added a small amount of vegetable oil but it didn't do anything. Why did this happen? What can i do to prevent this next time?

Sounds like your water bath was too hot... the water for you double boiler should NOT be boiling. The water should barely bubble.

Based upon your description, I don't think the chocolate "seized". When chocolate seizes, it turns very grainy/sandy.

You had separation where the oil came out of the chocolate. To me, that's an indication of too much heat.

Edit... Oops... I missed the part in your description that the chocolate got clumpy.... that's seizing.

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