Well, yes, because I accidentally did the experiment today. I made chocolate sauce and didn’t have quite enough of my favorite Valrhona chocolate. So I added a bar of supermarket-quality chocolate that I found in the cupboard. The result? The inferior chocolate never melted! Since real chocolate melts at body temperature, I shudder to think what stabilizer was added to the chocolate bar that it did not melt at 200 degrees. So I strained the sauce to remove the offending particles.

Here is my ultimate chocolate sauce recipe, which is perfect on vanilla ice cream…or just licked from the spoon. This sauce has the advantage of never tasting grainy, because the base is a silky-smooth caramel sauce.

Chocolate Sauce

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate (Valrhona or Callebaut)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large saute pan, combine the sugar and water on high heat. Cook — without stirring — until golden brown and caramelized. Turn the heat off. Slowly add the heavy cream (the mixture will bubble up), then cook the caramel until smooth. Turn off the heat and add the chocolate and vanilla and stir until the chocolate melts. This sauce will keep in the refrigerator for weeks….that is, if it is not consumed!