Tempering Chocolate

One of the trickiest tasks required of a chocolatier or pastry chef is the ability to temper chocolate. Tempering is required when melting chocolate for dipping or molding. The result must give a hard snap and an Iridescent gloss. Tempering involves taking the couverture chocolate through a number of different melting and setting points to make sure that all the fat crystals are brought together “in chorus.” If this isn’t done properly, the chocolate will take a long time to set, it will not break cleanly, and it will be covered with a white bloom. The mouthfeel will also be different and therefore tastes will be obscured.