Creating Cocoa Butter Crystals

The purpose of tempering is to force the cocoa butter within the chocolate to crystallize in a stable V (or beta) state and form as many of the beta crystals as possible. An example is shown below using pure cocoa butter to achieve this stable crystallization. First, heat the cocoa butter to 110° to 120°F/43.3° to 48.8°C in a heatproof container. In this temperature zone, there are no more crystals, stable or unstable. Remove the cocoa butter from the heat and stir gently to avoid burning or splashing. Stirring or agitating during the cooling process will trigger the beginning of crystallization and assure the spread of the stable crystals evenly through the mass. When stable crystals begin to form, notice that the butter will turn from clear to cloudy, displaying the beginning of proper beta crystal structure. Once crystallization has begun, the stable V crystals will continue to multiply until the cocoa butter is completely set.