I recently completed a one week course/49 hrs on making chocolates. Upon returning home and trying to make chocolates on my own I have failed every time. I cannot temper it using the table method. I was able to do this the first time in the course and about 20 times afterwards, but I cannot get it to work in my house. I am following the same procedure, using the same chocolate, and working on a granite slap I bought, but after 8 attempts, nothing. I am using Cocoa Berry dark. I heat the chocolate to 40-50 C/104-122F in the microwave and let it sit for min of 10 minutes. Then I table it until it is at least 27C/81F, return the seed to the bowl and maintain at 32-3C/ 90F to work with. However, when I do a parchment test, it never sets. It looks good on the surface but does not dry for many minutes. All I can think of is environment. I live in Canada. It is -23C/-10F outside. Inside, the house is 21-22C/70-72F and humidity 25%. I am feeling very frustrated and disappointed. I invested a lot in learning the basic skills of chocolate making. I did not have any particular problems in the course but I cannot even get started on my own. Any suggestion would be appreciated.
