Tempering Chocolate for a Clean Snap
Working with untempered chocolate leads to streaks, soft patches, and a dull, crumbly texture. Mastering the temperature curve gives you a professional-grade finish that holds up at room temperature.
Control is everything
Work in a cool, dry room. Even a single drop of water or steam will seize your chocolate and ruin the temper immediately.
- heavy-bottomed saucepan
- digital instant-read thermometer
- silicone spatula
- large metal bowl
What goes in.
- 1 lbcouverture chocolate (high cocoa butter content)
Managing Crystal Growth
You are essentially using finished, tempered chocolate to teach the melted chocolate how to align its crystals as it cools.
The method.
Melt
Chop three-quarters of your chocolate finely. Place it in a bowl over a pan of barely simmering water; never let the bowl touch the water. Bring the temperature to 115°F for dark or 110°F for milk chocolate.
Seed
Remove the bowl from the heat. Stir in the remaining quarter of unmelted, finely chopped chocolate. Stir constantly and slowly to distribute the heat evenly.
Cool
Continue stirring until the temperature drops to 82°F for dark or 80°F for milk chocolate. The chocolate should begin to look thick and velvety.
Test
Dip the tip of a knife into the chocolate and set it aside for three minutes. If it sets with a streak-free, glossy finish, you are in temper.
Warm
Briefly return the bowl to the heat for no more than 5 seconds to bring the working temperature to 88-90°F for dark or 86-88°F for milk chocolate. Do not exceed these ranges or you will melt the crystals you just formed.
Other turns to take.
White Chocolate
Follow the same steps but reduce your target temperatures: melt to 105°F, cool to 79°F, and work at 82°F.
When it doesn't go to plan.
Never use chocolate chips from the baking aisle; they contain stabilizers that prevent them from melting and tempering correctly.
If your chocolate streaks, you haven't seeded it enough or the temperature fluctuated too much; restart the process.
Keep a hairdryer nearby to gently warm the bowl if the chocolate begins to thicken too quickly while you are working.
The ones that keep coming up.
How do I know if my kitchen is too humid?
If you see condensation on the bowl or your windows, your chocolate will bloom. Wait for a drier day or run a dehumidifier.
Can I reuse chocolate that didn't set?
Yes. Just re-melt it and begin the tempering process again from the start.
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