Tempering Chocolate

There are several ways that you can temper chocolate. There is the seeding method, where you take your chocolate to the indicated heating point (this can usually be found on the packaging) and then cool it to a tempering state by adding cooled chocolate and stirring it until it has melted. The link above shows you how to do this method, unfortunately I did not take pictures when we did it in my dessert plating or dessert production class.

Another method is called the tabling method. This one is just a little more difficult to do at home unless you have a nice large marble table, but is well worth it I think because it seems to keep your chocolate in temper for a slightly longer period. First lets talk a little bit about tempering chocolate though, because once you get these few facts down then the tempering process is basically the same for each kind of chocolate that you are tempering.

64% Extra Bitter Chocolate - Guayaquil from the Barry Callebaut Company
This chocolate has 40.5% cocoa butter in it, and the amount of cocoa butter is indicated on the box. What is also indicated on the box is the temperature you have to melt the chocolate to so that the crystals fully melt, in this step it should be noted that if you heat the chocolate above the temperature you run the risk of sugar bloom or fat bloom which essentially means that the crystals have been damaged and you have compromised the shine of your chocolates. The box should also tell you what temperature you have to cool the chocolate to for tempering, and then the range for tempering.

MOP:

For Dark Chocolate the temperature you want to heat the chocolate to is 113°-122° F, if you heat the chocolate higher then this the shine can be compromised when set. Pre-boil the water and then cut heat once the water is boiling. Heat the chocolate over a double boiler, because water is the enemy of setting chocolate a good idea is to use two bowls over your pot with water. Between the bottom pot and the top pot line several layers of paper towels and then a side towel or two. This gives you a barrier between the heat and the chocolate to avoid for hot spots, the towels are so you can easily wipe off the bottom of the bowls to avoid water getting anywhere on your work bench. When the bowl of chocolate has reached 113° F remove this bowl from double broiler and use the bowl with the towels as a lid to trap the heat and steam.

Pour a third of the heated chocolate out onto the marble table. Use your spackle or off-set spatula to move the chocolate around. This process is quickly cooling down the chocolate, cool it to 81°F, or until it feel thicker and you can start to see ripples or waves in the chocolate. Return to bowl with heated chocolate. This heating up step you can do on the table, unless its not getting to 88° but dont rush it or you will not get the chocolate to temper! Use your spatula to mash (dont stir) the cooled chocolate into the hot chocolate. Stirring too much will incorporate air into the chocolate. But you want to continue to agitate/mash the chocolate to prevent streaks from forming in your tempered chocolate. When your chocolate is in the 88°-90° range it is tempered, put a little bit on a piece of parchment and let it dry to make

This is not tempered correctly, you

can see thin grey streaks

sure you are in temper. You will see a shiny coat without any streaks if you have done this properly.

Temperature levels for Milk Chocolate and White Chocolate are the same, the method of tempering is the same as Dark Chocolate.