When you buy high-quality chocolates you may notice the beautiful shine that they have and the crisp snap when you bite into them. This cannot be achieved by just melting chocolate and hoping for the best. To get the best result, it has to be properly tempered. Tempering is an advanced technique and it can take some time to master the skill and concentration that it takes to do it perfectly. Once mastered, being able to temper chocolate means that any chocolates or sweet treats that you create will look professional and very tempting!

Why Do We Temper Chocolate?

We temper chocolate to ensure that the appearance and texture of the chocolate are the best that they can be. Heating and cooling chocolate without taking the time to control the temperature will leave you with crumbly, matt chocolate. It could even be covered in white patches as when chocolate isn’t tempered properly it can cause it to bloom. Although this chocolate is still okay to eat, and will most likely still taste nice, it won’t have the perfect appearance or satisfying texture that you desire. 

For chocolate to temper well it needs to have a good amount of cocoa butter in it. The cocoa butter is the part of the chocolate that crystallises differently when it is melted and cooled. It is important that your chocolate contains cocoa butter, as that is what makes it worth tempering. If your chocolate doesn’t contain cocoa butter or has low levels of cocoa butter, tempering will not have the same effect on the chocolate.

At Chocogram we only use the finest Belgian couverture chocolate. This chocolate is made from high-quality cacao beans and extra cocoa butter giving it a lovely smooth and creamy taste. The extra cocoa butter also means that the chocolate is perfect for tempering, leaving it with a lovely sheen and a crisp snap!

What Is Involved In Tempering Chocolate?

When tempering chocolate, you are heating and cooling it so that the cocoa butter crystallises in small consistent sizes. To ensure that the crystals stay small and consistent, instead of being all different sizes, you have to control the temperature of the chocolate using a thermometer.

There are a couple of different methods to choose from when it comes to tempering chocolate. You can purchase tempering machines which are great for those who need to temper chocolate often or in higher quantities. The machine slowly heats the chocolate and then slowly cools it down leaving you with perfectly tempered chocolate. Most people, however, don’t have access to a tempering machine so will use either the tabling method or the seeding method.

The tabling method of tempering chocolate is a more traditional and impressive way of tempering chocolate, but it is also more difficult. It involves melting your chocolate and then pouring it onto a clean marble or granite slab or surface so that you can spread it back and forth until it thickens. Although it looks amazing and helps to keep old traditional methods alive, it can take some time to master and requires you to have access to a clean and cool marble or granite surface.

The seeding method is slightly easier and also requires less equipment. All you need is a bain-marie which can be created by putting a heatproof bowl over a pan of hot water and a thermometer. It does, however, limit the amount of chocolate that you can temper at once. If you want to make beautiful chocolate-covered treats, it is always worth learning how to temper chocolate. Although it may take a few attempts to get it right, it is a skill that will give your creations that extra shine and crispness that makes them feel and taste more professional and that will make them look more impressive to friends and family.