Yes, Virginia—you can burn chocolate in the microwave. And it fills your home with truly noxious smoke. When I told a few friends about yesterday’s kitchen mishap, they said they never realized you could burn chocolate in a microwave.
I was making a batch of gourmet caramel apples and stepped outside for just a moment. When I walked back in, a wisp of smoke wafted past my nose. It was billowing out of the microwave.
I’m usually a pretty decent cook, but I still don’t know what I did wrong. Maybe I accidentally entered the wrong time? I think the cheap ceramic “Made in China” bowl might’ve had something to do with it. That bowl always gets ultra-hot in the microwave (despite the “Microwave safe” label) and once it cooled down, I found a block of charred chocolate along the bottom of the bowl.
Yes, when in doubt, blame the “Made in China” label. Works for me.