Marble tempering

[Chocoguyin Pemby]

Hi all - learning so much from everyone in the forum - thanks for your sharing of knowledge - it's the most positive website iv'e come across for sharing - so my question is how big a marble should I look for to table temper 1-2 lbs of chocolate at a time.  I'm thinking a 2'x3' piece?    Is there any difference between marble/granite/quartz or do they all do the job   Tying to find someone local doing a kitchen reno I can get a piece from.  TIA

[Chris Hennes]

Yeah, 2’x3’ is probably reasonable — I have granite countertops and that’s probably about the size I work in for that amount of chocolate. I don’t think the exact surface matters, it just needs decent thermal mass.

[pastrygirl]

Agreed, 2x3’ is probably enough area. 

 

Do you want to be able to move it around, or will it have a permanent spot in your kitchen?  If you want to move it, you may prefer a smaller piece or at least a thinner slab of stone.  If it will have a permanent spot, might be worth finding a remnant you like and having it cut to fit. 

 

I have a piece of stone that is thinner (1”) and about the size of a sheet pan (18 x 24” approx), I do move it around but it must be at least 30 lb. Any larger or thicker approaches difficult for one person to move.

[Kerry Beal]

The piece of marble I have is around 2 inches thick and probably about 2.5 by 3. It's a bear to move. And responsible for the chips on the tile floor in the kitchen. 

[Rajala]

Ouch, must be pretty big chips.  

[Chocoguyin Pemby]

Thanks for the responses - I would like to be able to move it - I would love to put granite counters in but that is not happening anytime soon. 

[Kerry Beal]

1 hour ago, Rajala said:

Ouch, must be pretty big chips.  

Not as big as you would have thought. They are pretty substantial tiles. My hubby was very upset about what could happen to the tiles and had no concern about what could happen to my feet - so it wasn’t a good day all around.

[Darienne]

I've been very lucky.  A friend's son gave me a piece of marble, 17"x35", and my DH set it into a table for me.  It's bigger than I need for chocolate or confections, but it's also a kitchen work table. 

 

When we used to travel to our home away from home, Moab, Utah, I simply took a 12"x12" tile which I bought somewhere.  It's not marble bu it's highly polished and just fine.  I don't know if it's a counter or floor tile. 

[Kerry Beal]

When I’ve done tempering demos I’ve sometimes used a 12 inch tile. Probably not useful for tempering a couple of pounds though