Tempering chocolate means carefully heating and cooling the chocolate to stabilize its cocoa butter crystals. This process creates chocolate that is smooth, glossy, has a crisp snap when broken, and resists melting too easily or developing a white bloom on its surface. During tempering, chocolate is heated to melt all crystals, then cooled to encourage the formation of stable crystals, and sometimes gently reheated to maintain those stable crystals before using for molding, dipping, or coating. This manipulation of temperature helps cocoa butter in the chocolate form a desirable crystalline structure that gives it the right texture and appearance.
Why Temper Chocolate?
- To produce a shiny, smooth and firm finish.
- To ensure the chocolate has a crisp snap when broken.
- To prevent chocolate bloom (white streaks or spots from fat crystallizing unevenly).
- To make chocolate more stable at room temperature and resistant to melting on fingers.
How Tempering Works
- Chocolate is heated until all fat crystals melt (approx. 110–120°F depending on type).
- It is then cooled to a lower temperature (typically 80-84°F) to allow stable crystal formation.
- It may be gently reheated to a working temperature (around 88-91°F for dark chocolate) to melt unstable crystals.
- This controlled heating and cooling guides cocoa butter to crystallize in a uniform, stable form giving ideal texture and appearance.
Common Tempering Methods
- Melting two-thirds of chocolate, cooling, and then adding the remaining one-third as seed to cool further.
- Using a marble slab to cool and work the chocolate.
- Simply controlling heating/cooling carefully with a thermometer.
