There are several chocolate tempering techniques you can use. Tempering itself is a process carried out to give couverture chocolate a softer texture, a glossy appearance, and to make it not melt easily. Couverture chocolate must go through a tempering process before being used, otherwise the texture will be sticky and look dull.
Through this article, you will learn in depth about what are the chocolate tempering techniques that can be used. But before that, you need to know what is meant by tempering first. Let's see more below!
Definition of Tempering
Tempering is the process of heating and cooling chocolate to stabilize the cocoa content in it. Tempering should always be done on couverture chocolate before use. The tempering process can make couverture chocolate easier to use and apply to the bakery and pastry creations you make.
During tempering , the cocoa mass and cocoa butter present in couverture chocolate crystallize and fuse, resulting in a smoother texture and a glossy appearance. If couverture chocolate is not tempered , the crystallization of the cocoa butter will be uncontrolled and uneven, resulting in a dull, white streaked chocolate that has a rough, sticky, and almost chewy texture .
Unlike couverture chocolate , which must go through a tempering process before being used, you can use compound chocolate right away . This is because compound chocolate doesn't contain cocoa butter in it, so you don't need to temper it first to crystallize it.
Also read: How to Harden Chocolate Without Refrigerator?
3 Chocolate Tempering Techniques
You can temper chocolate using three techniques, namely ice bath , seeding , and microwave . These three techniques do not require complicated equipment, you only need to prepare an iron container, a pot and a microwave . The following are three chocolate tempering techniques that you can do.
1. Ice baths
As the name suggests, in the ice bath technique you will "bathe" the melted chocolate mixture using ice to cool it. First of all, prepare the tools first, namely:
- thermometer
- a pot filled with water
- two iron containers; one for the chocolate (large container) and one for the ice cubes (smaller container)
After all the tools are prepared, you can follow the steps below to temper using the ice bath technique :
- Place the chocolate in a large bowl and melt it at approximately 40 to 45 degrees Celsius using the au bain-marie method . Make sure no moisture gets into the dough.
- Once melted, keep the container filled with melted chocolate on top of the container filled with ice cubes. Make sure the size of the ice cube container is smaller than the chocolate container.
- Stir the chocolate during the cooling process until it reaches a maximum temperature of 27 degrees Celsius to reveal beta crystals, which are tiny crystal structures with a glossy texture.
- Then, reheat the chocolate in the hot water to the working temperature of the chocolate.
- Dark couverture : 31 to 32 degrees Celsius
- Milk couverture : 30 to 31 degrees Celsius
- White couverture : 29 to 30 degrees Celsius
- Check the temperature using a thermometer.
Try sampling the chocolate first to make sure that beta crystals have formed on the surface. If the chocolate layer looks perfect, then the tempering process using the ice bath method has been successful.
2. Seeding
Seeding is a chocolate tempering technique that is done by adding chocolate little by little to the chocolate mixture. The tools that need to be prepared for tempering with the seeding technique are:
- thermometer
- a pot filled with water
- iron container
Once all the tools are prepared, you can follow the steps below to temper using the seeding technique .”
- Chop or chop the chocolate into small pieces and store in a metal container. Leave about 20 percent and set aside.
- Melt the chocolate using the au bain-marie method .
- Once melted, gradually add the remaining 20 percent chocolate, a little at a time, into the chocolate mixture. Mix well.
- Make sure the chocolate reaches working chocolate temperature.
- Dark couverture : 31 to 32 degrees Celsius
- Milk couverture : 30 to 31 degrees Celsius
- White couverture : 29 to 30 degrees Celsius
- Check the temperature using a thermometer.
To ensure that the beta crystals have formed perfectly, try making a chocolate sample first. If the chocolate layer looks shiny, then the tempering process using the seeding method has been successful.
Also read: How to Make Simple and Easy Chocolate Ganache
3. Microwaves
To use the microwave technique to temper chocolate, you'll need a thermometer, a container, and a microwave handy . The following are the steps for tempering chocolate using the microwave technique .
- Chop or chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl. Melt for 30 seconds periodically in the microwave .
- After 30 seconds, remove the chocolate and stir.
- Place the chocolate back into the microwave for 30 seconds.
- Take out the chocolate and Stir the chocolate until it reaches working temperature.
- Dark couverture : 31 to 32 degrees Celsius
- Milk couverture : 30 to 31 degrees Celsius
- White couverture : 29 to 30 degrees Celsius
- Check the temperature using a thermometer.
Check whether the tempering has been successful by making a sample. Your couverture chocolate should have a texture like the image below after going through the tempering process .
You need visual direction? Visit the following video: 3 Correct Ways of Tempering Chocolate: Ice Bath, Seeding & Microwave .
Also visit the following video to find out how to melt chocolate the right way: 5 Good and Right Ways to Melt Chocolate A la Bain-Marie & Microwave .
If you need chocolate for business or personal use, just shop at KioskCokelat. We provide various types of chocolate that you can use, ranging from couverture chocolate to compound chocolate . For more information about our products, visit us here !
