Why Temper Chocolate?

Due to the chemical composition of chocolate, it’s necessary to carefully monitor its melting and hardening process to achieve great results. I understand that this sounds daunting and don’t worry, I will spare you the chemistry lesson today. For now, it’s just important to understand that chocolate contains cocoa butter, which can crystallize (set) in six different forms–and only one of these forms gives us the beautiful, shiny, snappy chocolate we love. In order to achieve this desired form, we need to temper our chocolate–which basically means controlling temperature as the chocolate melts and sets.

If you don’t temper your chocolate, it will:

• Have a rubbery consistency
• Have a dull surface
• Form white streaks or splotches
• Be runny and difficult to work with
• Take a long time to set

On the other hand, if you do temper your chocolate, it will:

• Have a satisfying snap
• Achieve a beautiful, shiny finish
• Be much easier to work with
• Set quickly

The Essential Chocolate Handbook

The Chocolate Handbook deep dives into everything you need to know about how to make beautiful, delicious, and shiny chocolate bonbons and decorations at home. Whether you’re a beginner trying to grasp the basics or an experienced chocolatier seeking new inspiration, the book’s 236 pages offer hundreds of recipes and techniques to suit your needs. The book covers everything on tempering, equipment, storage and flavor combinations so you can create amazing chocolate.

It includes over 100 recipes and techniques for:

• Molded chocolates (bonbons)
• Truffles
• Cream puffs
• Chocolate decorations

Which Chocolate Should You Use?

You can melt and temper any chocolate that contains cocoa butter, including white, caramelized, milk, ruby or dark chocolate. As with most things, you get what you pay for. There is a big difference between the quality and taste of chocolate and I encourage you to try several brands to see which flavor you prefer. The highest quality chocolate is known as couverture chocolate–excellent to use for e.g. bonbons. Personally, my favorite couverture brand is Callebaut.

Watch out for cheaper chocolate–it often contains substitute ingredients instead of cocoa butter. In most countries, this “imitation” chocolate cannot be legally labeled as “chocolate”, and is typically labeled chocolate melts, compound chocolate or chocolate wafers. I cannot stress enough that this is not real chocolate. It cannot be tempered and it does not taste nor behave the same way as real chocolate. Because it does not need to be tempered, imitation chocolate can easily be used as is for beautiful results–however, it tastes sweeter and different than real quality chocolate.

Aside from the quality of the chocolate, you should also consider the form in which you buy it. While you can buy chocolate in bars or blocks and chop it yourself, it’s quicker and easier to work with chocolate chips or callets.

How to Melt Chocolate

There are three ways to melt chocolate: in the microwave, over a double boiler, or using a chocolate melter. I always recommend melting chocolate in the microwave because it’s quick, requires minimal cleanup, and most importantly, you avoid the risk of water or steam getting into the chocolate, which can ruin it.

Myths about melting chocolate

• You should melt chocolate over a double boiler. FALSE! You can use a double boiler, but I recommend the microwave or a chocolate melter because there’s a risk that steam from a double boiler can ruin the chocolate.
• It doesn’t matter how hot the chocolate gets; it just needs to melt. FALSE! It’s important that the chocolate melts to a specific temperature. Read more about this further down in this post.
• Chocolate is ready for use as soon as it’s melted. FALSE! The chocolate must be brought to the right temperature first; otherwise, it will become dull and rubbery. This process is called tempering.

How to Melt Chocolate in the Microwave

1. Chop the chocolate roughly or use chocolate chips / callets. Place it in a microwave-safe plastic bowl or container.
2. Heat the chocolate in 30-second intervals until it starts to melt, stirring in between.
3. Continue heating in 10-second intervals, stirring in between, and checking the temperature with a candy thermometer until you reach the desired temperature.

How to Temper Chocolate

The key to beautiful and delicious chocolate is controlled temperature. Below are different methods to temper chocolate. You can learn them all with detailed picture guides and explanations of their pros and cons in my book, The Chocolate Handbook. Further down, I’ll explain the best method for beginners, which is called seeding.

• Seeding: Add small pieces of chocolate to melted chocolate until it reaches the right temperature. This method, called seeding, is the best for beginners because it allows for a slow and controlled process.
• Tabling: With this method, melted chocolate is moved around on a cool stone slab, e.g. marble. It requires more equipment than seeding and is done at a higher pace, so you will need more practice.
• Mycryo: Chocolate is melted, and a special cocoa butter powder called Mycryo is added. This method is easy for beginners but requires investing in Mycryo powder.
• Re-heating: With this method, chocolate is heated to the right temperature without exceeding a certain limit. This is only possible with small amounts of chocolate and is very difficult for beginners.

If it’s so easy to use the seeding method, then why use any other method? Well, seeding takes time, so as you become more experienced you may want to work faster. You may want to learn tabling (you’ve probably seen professionals do this, where they pour chocolate onto a marble slab). Or maybe you want the process to be as simple as possible with guaranteed perfect results–in that case, you may consider investing in Mycryo powder. Read much more about these alternative methods in my book.

Recipe

Tempering Chocolate (Seeding Method)

No ratings yet

This method of tempering chocolate is the easiest for beginners. Follow each step carefully to achieve perfectly tempered chocolate with beautiful, shiny results.

Time: 20 minutes mins

Difficulty: Beginner

Udskriv Pin GemGemt!

Udstyr

• Microwave
• Microwave-safe plastic bowl or container
• Spatula
• Candy thermometer

Ingredients

1x2x3x

• 200 g chocolate of your choice (minimum amount recommended)

Jeg er i køkkenet,hold skærmen tændt.

Instructions

• Chop your chocolate or use chips / callets. Divide your chocolate into two portions: one that makes up 3/4 of the chocolate and another that makes up 1/4.
  
• Place the larger portion of chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Melt it in short intervals (20–30 seconds at a time), stirring thoroughly between each interval until the chocolate reaches the melting temperature (see Notes below).
• Remove the bowl from the microwave. Gradually stir the smaller portion of unmelted chocolate into the melted chocolate, one handful at a time, allowing it to fully melt. Check the temperature after incorporating each handful. Repeat this process until the chocolate reaches the working temperature (see Notes below).
  
• If you near the working temperature before all the chocolate has been added, finely chop the remaining chocolate into smaller pieces. This helps it melt more easily and lowers the temperature to the working temperature.
  
• The chocolate is tempered once it reaches the working temperature. Maintain the chocolate at working temperature while you work—do not let it drop below 25 °C (77 °F), or you will need to start the tempering process over again. You can easily reheat the chocolate slightly with a heat gun or hairdryer, stirring as needed.
  

Notes

Different types of chocolate contain different ingredients and ratios, which create small (but important) variations in the temperatures needed for tempering. Always check the melting and working temperatures for the type of chocolate you’re using:

• Dark chocolate: Melt to 50–55°C (122–131°F); working temperature is 31–32°C (88–90°F).
• Milk chocolate: Melt to 45–50°C (113–122°F); working temperature is 30–31°C (86–88°F).
• White chocolate: Melt to 40–45°C (104–113°F); working temperature is 28–29°C (82–84°F).

For more details and troubleshooting common challenges, check out my book The Chocolate Handbook.

RATE THE RECIPE

Tag @bageglad på Instagram så jeg kan se og dele det du har lavet!

• Total31.6K
•  2.4K
•  23.4K
•  5.7K

Tips for Tempering Chocolate

• The more chocolate you temper at once, the easier it is to control the temperatures. I recommend tempering at least 200 g (7 oz).
• You can reuse leftover chocolate! Let it harden on a piece of parchment paper and then store it in an airtight bag or container. You can melt and temper this chocolate again next time.
• If your chocolate gets too cold–for example if you take too long working with it–you can reheat it to the correct temperature using a heat gun (or hairdryer). Ensure it doesn’t drop below 25 °C (77 °F) or exceed the final working temperature; otherwise, you’ll need to start the tempering process over.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to temper the chocolate again the next time I use it?
Yes. Once the chocolate cools below 25 °C (77 °F), it needs to be tempered again.

I’m following the instructions exactly, but my tempering still fails! What’s going on?
Check if your thermometer is accurate. Some thermometers, especially infrared thermometers, can be off by a few degrees, which is enough to ruin your tempering. Also ensure your chocolate sets at the right temperature–a room temperature around 16-18 °C (60-64 °F). Never in the fridge!

I have heard that the temperature needs to go up to 45 °C (113 °F), then down below 27 °C (80.6 °F), and then up to working temperature?
Many people confuse the seeding and tabling methods. With seeding, you only need to focus on two temperatures, whereas with tabling, you work with three. You can read all about tabling in my book, The Chocolate Handbook.

What if I don’t have a thermometer? 
If you don’t have a thermometer, you can use the “finger test”. Working temperature for dark chocolate is 31-32 °C (88 °F), pretty much the same temperature as your finger. However, for the best results and when you are a beginner, you will need to use a thermometer.

Do I need to temper chocolate if using a chocolate mold?
Yes, absolutely. If you do not temper your chocolate, it will not release from the mold. Perfectly tempered chocolate will easily release from the mold and you will get beautiful, shiny chocolate shells or bonbons.

How to Store Chocolate