When you buy chocolate in the store, it is already tempered.  (At least it should be!)  Basically this means it is in a stable solid form at room temperature. 

If you want to get down to the business of eating the chocolate straight out of the package, no problem, just break off a chunk and go to it!  But, if you want to use the chocolate for any other purpose you may have to re-temper.

This is the final part in my series of tempering chocolate.  The first article was about the importance of tempering chocolate.  The last article was about melting the chocolate to get ready for tempering.
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The first step in tempering chocolate is melting the chocolate... Properly!

You might be thinking, what's the big deal about melting chocolate?

Chocolate is a low melting point food.  It melts just below human body temperature.  While this low melting point means it’s easy to melt in the mouth, it also means it’s easy to burn when direct heat is used. Overheating chocolate will cause it to burn.  Burnt chocolate is irreversibly damaged and cannot be used.

In addition to burning, another potential problem when melting chocolate is "seizing".  This can happen if you use an indirect heating method like a hot water and a double boiler. Small amounts of water will cause the chocolate to “seize” or become hard and crumbly.  Seized chocolate is irreversibly damaged and cannot be used.

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