Tempering Chocolate

Tempering makes chocolate more malleable and glossy. Couverture chocolate is most often tempered because it has a high cocoa butter content and may form different kinds of crystals as it cools. If the crystals are stable, the chocolate will be firm and shiny, but unstable crystals make it sticky and streaked. Tempering encourages the formation of the right kind of crystal. After tempering, the chocolate is heated to the ideal temperature for dipping and coating. Tempered chocolate can be molded more easily into shapes.