To temper or not to temper that is the question

[archiduc]

Originally Posted by jasonr

All real chocolate you buy, from Hershey to Valhrona, is tempered when you buy it. All chocolate is "pre-tempered", regardless of make or quality. And you can temper any chocolate you buy, regardless of whether or not it is a couverture.

Common sense tells us that if you melt tempered chocolate and then let it harden, it will harden into the same thing it was before. Common sense is wrong, unfortunately. If you melt chocolate, it will go out of temper. I don't know the science, but it has to do with the alignment of crystals or some such thing. Bottom line: if you want melted chocolate to set like it did before it was melted, you have no choice but to temper it.

Tempering does more than prevent discolouration. Tempered chocolate is much shinier. If you don't temper, it will appear duller. You can tell the difference visually.

The other big plus to tempering is that the chocolate will set at room temperature fairly quickly, and you'll get that satisfying "snap" when you break it (at least with dark chocolate, less so for white or milk). If you don't temper, it takes forever to set, and the consistency never gets to that good hard snap.

Why not try to temper? If you're successful, then great, if you fail, then you're no worse off than if you hadn't tried.

Hi Jasonr,
This is a global website and as such one has to respond bearing this in mind as the original poster may be buying their chocolate from all over the world - not just in the USA!!!! The chocolate that you buy, can buy, may not be the same as me!

The fact is that not all chocolate is tempered (in the global scheme of purchasing!), so that when used for dipping, filling etc., it will be shiny, glossy and have the characteristic snap of a high quality chocolate product. Tempering is necessary for a great many chocolate products to give the gloss and snap to the chocolate which encases the final product. The "catch words" here are gloss and snap!

When I was a student, I was taught that there are two different fats in chocolate - Fat A and Fat B. The process of tempering was to redistribute the fats and, on cooling, allow them to settle/set in such a way as to produce a glossy product with a good snap. The objective is to allow the fats to set and not rise to the surface - IIRC! When ,and if, the fats rise to the surface, through poor tempering, the resultant chocolate(s) will be liable to bloom and lack the appropriate snap and, more importantly, the gloss.

In conclusion, anyone wishing to work with chocolate should have 2/3 very finely calibrated thermometers which operate at appropriate temperatures or buy pre-tempered chocolate.

Hope this helps,
Archiduc

[jpmcgrew]

Chocolate that has been melted must be re-tempered because the melting separates the the fat and the sugar molecules which is why they need to be stirred slowly as the chocolate cools to a certain point to stabilize the two so that they will hold together as to not cause the bloom. This is not rocket science folks. You do not need a thermometer to temper small amounts of chocolate. I'm talking 2-4 cups. I don't know if larger amounts can be done by feel. Of course you could have larger amounts melted and then temper smaller batches as you go but I'm talking about home or small business not a large factory.

[chocolatier]

I'm just starting to work with chocolate and I'm having a lot of fun doing it. Tempered chocolate, when melted, does need to be tempered again. I purchased a small tempering unit that tempers up to 1.5 lbs in around 30 minutes. Very easy and worth the money. I made some very quick and easy oreo balls and dipped them and they had the gloss and "snap".

[swish2]

If it's not tempered you may also get a gritty chocolate. You may want to try confectioners coating. It's not as good as true chocolate but it doesn't need to be tempered. When it's mixed with nuts, dried fruits, pretzels etc. It will taste fine. But if you do try the coating try to get a good brand not Wilton.
You can find some good video's on youtube on tempering. One with Jac. Torres and one from Epicurious.

[jasonr]

Hi Jasonr,
This is a global website and as such one has to respond bearing this in mind as the original poster may be buying their chocolate from all over the world - not just in the USA!!!! The chocolate that you buy, can buy, may not be the same as me!

As far as I am aware, all commercially available chocolate is tempered. I don't think it's possible to buy chocolate that hasn't been tempered. It's just part of the process any manufacturer goes through when they turn their chocolate into bars / squares / blocks, etc...

Where are you buying your chocolate from that they don't temper it?