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Fool-Proof Chocolate Tempering

Fool-Proof Chocolate Tempering

Tempering chocolate is one of those things that is scary to even think about.  But if you know a little chocolate science (which we’ll address) and follow our instructions, we can almost  guarantee chocolate tempering success for you.  We say almost because there are sooo many factors that affect chocolate.  But don’t get overwhelmed.  It really isn’t hard.

Okay, so let’s begin with what tempered chocolate looks like…

Fool-Proof Chocolate Tempering
 

The first thing you notice is the appearance.  It has a smooth. shiny surface.  It should be crisp and snap when you bite it.  No crumbly-ness.

Now for the science-y part.  We’ll try not to get too technical, but know that understanding the chemistry of chocolate makes it easier to temper simply because you know what you’re trying to achieve with each step.

Here we go..we’ll try not to lose you.

Fool-Proof Chocolate Tempering
 (We really don’t know what the different crystals look like.  The shapes and colors are for illustration purposes only.)

Chocolate is a crystalline substance made up of 6 different crystals.  The tricky thing is that of these 6 crystals, only one creates the texture and appearance we want.  This crystal is called beta V.  (We’re only going to talk about 5 of the crystals, though.  Beta VI is still a mystery to us and doesn’t really seem to play a major role in tempering.)

 
Fool-Proof Chocolate Tempering
 
In a nutshell, tempering goes like this:  Melt the chocolate.  Cool the chocolate so that the 5 crystals “reappear”, then slowly bring the temperature back up to melt all but the beta V crystals.
 
Okay, so the graphic below shows melted chocolate at or above 100 F.  (Don’t go above 110 F.  It can burn.)  As the chocolate cools, 5 crystals randomly form.  If it were to cool completely and solidify in this state, it would be soft, crumbly untempered chocolate.
 
Fool-Proof Chocolate Tempering

Since the goal here is tempered chocolate, we need to take some more steps.  We need to re-melt all but the beta V crystals and get them to align.  It’s really not as complicated as it sounds.  It’s all about watching the temperature of the chocolate.

So, the melted chocolate has cooled to 80 – 82 F.  Wait…back up.  How do we cool the chocolate?  You could let it sit, stirring often.  That would do the trick, but it takes forever.  What we do is add some unmelted chocolate.  After chopping your chocolate, only melt about 2/3 of it.  The remaining 1/3 will be your “seed” chocolate – the chocolate you add to cool it.

Nobody’s lost yet, right?

Okay.  Slowly bring the heat back up.  Get yourself a good chocolate thermometer and watch the temperature.  You want to bring it back up to 86 – 88 F.

Fool-Proof Chocolate Tempering

 

Fool-Proof Chocolate Tempering

 

Fool-Proof Chocolate Tempering

 

Fool-Proof Chocolate Tempering

The previous four images are illustrating what’s happening as the temperature rise

s.  Once you get to 88 F (no higher than 89 F), take the chocolate off the heat and STIR.  Stir, stir, stir.  Chocolate LOVES to be stirred.  The beta V crystals will begin to form around the seed chocolate and align in the pattern we want.

Fool-Proof Chocolate Tempering

Bingo.

Go ahead and dip your chocolates.  Now, your chocolate may begin to cool as you’re dipping, making it thick and difficult to work with.  If this happens, VERY gently add some heat to the chocolate.  But be very careful not to get it above 89 F.  Your temper will be ruined if you do.  However, not all is lost if you get it too hot.  All that’s happened is that you’ve melted the beta V crystals.  Just temper it again and keep going.

Fool-Proof Chocolate Tempering

Simple enough, right?  Once you get the hang of it, anyway.

For easy reference, here are the steps to tempering chocolate:

  1. Chop your chocolate as uniformly as possible for even melting.
  2. Melt about 2/3 of the chocolate, being careful to get it between 105 and 113 F for milk chocolate (I always shoot for 110 F) and 114 to 118 F for dark chocolate.
  3. Add the reserved 1/3 of the seed chocolate to the melted chocolate to bring the temperature down to 80 – 82 F.  Stir, stir,stir. Be patient with your chocolate. Don’t rush it and you’ll be rewarded.
  4. Slowly and carefully bring the temperature back up to 88 F.
  5. Stir, stir, stir.

We were going to do some troubleshooting at this point, but this post is already long and there’s enough troubleshooting questions to make a whole other post.  Stay tuned.  Friday we’ll cover bloom, streaks, splotches, seizing, and more.

Do you have any questions?  Do you need clarification on something?  Ask in the comments section below.

(Our images are inspired by Chocolate Alchemy.  Give them a visit for a more in-depth explanation.)

tempering-chocolate

Fool-Proof Chocolate Tempering

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Filed Under: Chocolate / Candy|Good Information Tagged With: Tempering

November 29, 2016 by Dawn Mikesell Leave a Comment

Dipping Chocolates: Troubleshooting Q&A

Dipping Chocolates: Troubleshooting Q&A

Okay, so on Wednesday, we covered tempering chocolate.  Everything’s perfect now.  Your chocolates are dipped and everything went as smoothly as ever, right?  Well, not always.  There are a number of things that can happen hours or even weeks after you dip.  Let’s address these things:

Q:  Why didn’t my chocolate ever set up?

A:  It could be that your room temperature is too high.  Candies need to be dipped and then left to set in a room that is between 65 and 68 F.

It could also be that the chocolate wasn’t tempered.  Untempered chocolate takes quite a bit longer to set.

Q:  Why are there white streaks or splotches on my chocolates?

Dipping Chocolates: Troubleshooting Q&A
 Image Source

A:  This is a difficult question to answer because it can be a couple of things.

If grainy streaks appear over time, it could be caused from not adding enough seed chocolate during tempering.  (Read our tempering post for more info.)  If the streaks appear very soon after the chocolate sets, it’s probably caused by the cocoa butter not being fully integrated with the cocoa solids.  Solution: stir, stir, stir.  

You can also get streaks or splotches from temperature changes.  Chocolate needs to set at a temperature between 65 F and 68 F.  If you put it in the fridge to cool and set, when you take it out, condensation will appear on the surface of the chocolate.  This water will pull sugar crystals to it and cause what is called sugar bloom.

If you want a more in-depth read, click here and here.

Q:  What is this white film on my chocolate?

A:  This white film is called fat bloom.  One theory is that fat rises to the surface of the chocolate through microscopic cracks.  Sometimes fats in the centers will creep out to the surface.  This is most common with chocolate covered nuts.  

Warm storage conditions can also cause fat bloom.

While it looks less appetizing, it’s perfectly fine to eat.

Q:  When I was melting my chocolate, it globbed up and went hard.  What happened?

Dipping Chocolates: Troubleshooting Q&A
Image source

A:  There are two things that could have happened.  

First, you might have gotten water in it, causing it to seize.  Despite the appearance of melted chocolate, it’s actually a very dry substance.  There’s no water in it.  Think of it like this- What happens when you put a drop of water in a bowl of sugar?  The sugar crystals cling to the water and glob up.  It’s the same thing with chocolate.  Get water in it and the chocolate crystals cling to it, causing hard clumpiness.

At this point, is your chocolate ruined?  Yes and no.  You won’t be able to use it for dipping, but if you add enough liquid (milk, cream, or water) it will thin back out and you can use it in baking or for hot chocolate.  It’s just like adding more water to the sugar.  If you add enough water, the sugar crystals will dissolve and you’ll have something you can work with again in a different application.

The second thing that might have happened is that it burned.  Your heat was too high or you didn’t stir it enough while melting it.

Is your chocolate ruined?  Well, yes it is.  There’s really no retrieving burned chocolate as far as we know.

Q:  Does humidity affect chocolate?

A:  Yes, yes it does.  We learned this one the hard way.  While trying to cool the house down quickly on a rainy night in preparation for dipping, we opened the windows.  Not to mention the pot of soup on the stove simmering away for dinner.  Lots of humidity.

Dipping went on, but as the chocolate was setting, it formed tiny speckles.  Not the splotches mentioned above, just tiny little speckles that almost look like fat bloom from a distance.  The chocolate set up fairly quickly, but was kind of soft and melted easily when touched.

Chocolate needs to be dipped in 50% or less humidity.  It really shouldn’t be too much of a concern.  Just don’t open your windows when it’s raining or dip right after a pot has been simmering on the stove.  Be aware of the humidity, but don’t obsess over it.

Q:  What’s the best way to melt chocolate? 

Dipping Chocolates: Troubleshooting Q&A
 Image Source

A:  There are a few ways to melt chocolate and it really just depends on who you are and what you like.  There are people who swear by the microwave; heating it at 50% power at 30 second intervals.  Others love the double boiler.  It decreases the chance of burning, but be careful when working with chocolate around water.  Still, others like to melt in a thick-bottomed pan directly on the stove top.  With this method, you need to constantly stir it over very low heat.  Be careful not to burn it.

A lesser known way to melt it is in a glass bowl with a heating pad between it and another larger bowl.  This is a super slow method for melting, but consider it for keeping your chocolate at a good dipping temperature.  We’ve also heard of people putting their chopped chocolate in a bowl and sticking it in a gas oven, letting the heat from the pilot light melt it.

Think about this:  if you melt your chocolate so gently and slowly that it never gets above 89 F it will not need to go through the tempering process because it hasn’t lost its temper.  Of course, this depends on the chocolate too.  Consult the manufacturer for verification.  We do know that Peter’s chocolates will stay in temper if not heated above 89 F.

Q:  Can I use chocolate chips?

Dipping Chocolates: Troubleshooting Q&A


A:  Well…we wouldn’t.  First of all, chocolate chips have a higher viscosity (they’re thicker when melted), so they’ll coat really thickly.  But mostly we wouldn’t use them because they’ve had things added to them to help them retain their shape during baking.  So, you could use them, but it won’t turn out the same as if you use dipping chocolate.

Q:  Who ate all my chocolates?   

Dipping Chocolates: Troubleshooting Q&A
Image Source

A:  Well, that’s a tough one.  They were so delicious.

We hope this helped solve your chocolate woes.  If you still have questions, we’d love to answer them in the comments section below.

Dipping Chocolates: Troubleshooting Q&A

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Filed Under: Chocolate / Candy|Good Information

December 14, 2012 by Dawn Mikesell Leave a Comment

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Kitchen Kneads is your one stop shop for quality grains, flour, kitchen appliances and other ingredients. We are Utah’s premiere baking and cooking resource! Questions? 888-881-9957 [email protected]
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