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Technique Theory: Thinning
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By Peter Greweling and Culinary Institute of America
Published 2007
When thinned chocolate is desired, melted cocoa butter can be added to reduce the viscosity and create a thinner shell. Cocoa butter should never be added to chocolate to make up for poor handling technique or overseeded chocolate.
- Begin with Melted, Untempered Chocolate and Melted, Untempered Cocoa Butter. By beginning with untempered chocolate and cocoa butter, the confectioner is better able to accurately judge the viscosity. If the chocolate is tempered, the degree to which it is seeded will affect viscosity, and it will be more difficult to achieve precisely the desired results.
- Add the Cocoa Butter to the Chocolate Until the Desired Degree of Viscosity is Achieved. The exact amount of cocoa butter to add varies widely depending on the initial viscosity of the chocolate and the desired final viscosity. A good general rule is to add a quantity of cocoa butter that is between 10 and 15 percent of the weight of the chocolate, but this is only a guideline. When it is properly tempered, chocolate will thicken only slightly, so there is no need to thin it substantially more than the viscosity at which it will be used.
- Temper the Chocolate by Any of the Usual Techniques and use the Chocolate as Usual. Chocolate with cocoa butter added to it tempers in essentially the same way as unthinned chocolate. The only noticeable difference is that when tabled on a stone, thinned chocolate tends to run very quickly, so care must be taken not to put too much on the stone at one time. When tempering by the seeding method, the viscosity will increase slightly due to the unthinned chocolate that is being incorporated.
- Store Separately from Unthinned Chocolate. Thinned chocolate should not be added back to unthinned melted chocolate. Not only will it reduce the chocolate’s viscosity and raise its cost, but the increased fat content could cause formulation difficulties, such as separated emulsions.
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