People’s love affair for chocolate is never-ending. However, just like other good relationships, there are some things that work and some that don’t. It is important to know what you can about your true love and accept that some behaviors get better results. This makes it essential to know about tempering chocolate.
While chocolate chips can be melted, the flavor and texture may not satisfy you. The par of chocolate that lets it melt deliciously in the mouth is cocoa butter, which is made of a family of crystals. Working with chocolate is tricky because of every kind of crystal forms or sets at a different temperature. And some of these forms can change over time and in storage. If chocolate gets too warm; however, not warm enough to melt, some of the cocoa butter crystals can migrate to the surface. Although it is fine to eat or bake with, it is not in temper anymore. The perfection comes down to the chocolate tempering machine being used. If you need a huge quantity of workable chocolate, it is best to use the machine.
What is Chocolate Tempering?
Chocolate tempering is meant to pre-crystallise the cocoa butter in it and make it ready for processing. During this process, the cocoa butter takes on a stable crystalline form, ensuring a perfect finished product with a hard snap and a satin gloss. Simply melting chocolate and leaving it to cool down to a suitable temperature, will not give the final product a desirable gloss. So, tempering is about bringing chocolate up to the right working temperature while ensuring the stability of the cocoa butter’s crystalline structure. The major principles for proper tempering are time, movement, and temperature.
Importance of Fluidity
Your chocolate’s fluidity determines the thickness of the shell and the snap of the chocolate products. A thinner and crunchier shell results from chocolate that is more fluid. Also, using chocolate with the right fluidity saves time. It lets you cast big moulds in one go with less fluid chocolate. If your mould has lots of details, opt for chocolate with a higher fluidity.
Importance of Proper Chocolate Pre-Crystallisation
Pre-crystallising chocolate properly helps chocolate harden and offers it a nice satin gloss and a delicious snap. It allows chocolate to contract during cooling, making it easier to unmould. If chocolate does not crystallise properly, it will turn grey and the gloss will not be appetising.
