Tempering 101
Tempering is probobly the greatest challenge or hurdle for those learning how to work with chocolate. What many people don’t realize, is that molten (melted) chocolate doesn’t just cool and set. The fat within chocolate (the cocoa butter from the cocoa beans) crystalizes when it cools/sets. Because of this, chocolate needs to be cooled or “tempered” in a specific way in order for it to crystalize properly. A properly tempered or crystalized chocolate has a nice uniform appearance, good melt, and nice strong structure. It is also what you need if you want a nice shine or finish on your chocolate bonbons or bars.
Below I will discuss different ways of tempering, and the general guidelines. If you ever need help tempering, you can book a virtual tutoring lesson!
Welcome!
I would say there are basically 4 methods of tempering these days. Seeding (either in a bowl or manual tempering machine), table method, and expensive automatic machines. There is “silk” method, which is basically a version of seeding.
Seed method (bain-marie - home style)
Seed method Manual tempering machine
Table method
Automatic tempering machines
“silk” method