The Importance of Tempering Chocolate
August 31, 2009
I admit my mind works differently than that of other chocolate lovers. I am a scientist first, I guess, then a chocolate lover.
One day I was attending a local street festival and happened upon a vendor selling “Fresh Pineapple – Chocolate Covered!” Most people’s first reaction might be, “Yum!” but mine was more like, “Well, this is interesting. It is either a chocolate disaster in the making (there’s too much moisture in most fresh fruit to support a tempered chocolate) or a major discovery!”
I guess I was picturing a wedge of pineapple (carefully wiped dry?) dipped in chocolate, similar to a chocolate-covered strawberry. My curiosity was growing by the minute.
Well… the vendor put pineapple in a bowl and poured liquid chocolate on top. You had to eat it with a spoon!
Cheater.
You see, chocolate must be tempered. It is, in my opinion, the most important step when working with chocolate.
Tempered chocolate is solid at room temperature, has a smooth, shiny finish, and snaps when you break it. Un-tempered or poorly tempered chocolate will melt too quickly in your hand, crumble or bend instead of snapping, and have a dull appearance or even "bloom" - which is that ugly gray film covering the surface.
Considering that description, which chocolate sounds more appealing to you? Tempered or untempered? Yeah, I thought so.
Tempering chocolate is not easy, but it is not difficult either. Yes, there are ways to harden chocolate without tempering but trouble is right around the corner if you decide to take a short cut...
Freezing, or sticking chocolate into the refrigerator, instead of tempering is a solution that lasts about ten seconds (ok, maybe ten minutes, but you get my point). You can’t break the chocolate rules without consequences, in this case condensation makes the untempered chocolate even worse.
To hold up best at room temperature, the cocoa butter in chocolate must crystallize from a liquid to a solid at the right temperature, in the right form, and in the right amount. This is the tried and true principle behind tempering.
In an upcoming article I'll explain the steps of tempering.
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