Chocolate Tempering: Tips and Troubleshooting

[RobertM]

Grits12: Please check out the forum on the 2012 Confection Conference that will be held in March in the Washington DC Metro area. Everyone is welcome to attend, I'm sure we will have a session on chocolate tempering techniques, giving you the opportunity to try different methods of tempering chocolate.

[Kerry Beal]

Here is a link to a demo I did a while back.

[Emily_R]

Hi all -

I'm about to have my first go at tempering chocolate for making spiced PB cups, and I've of course obsessively been doing research about how to temper. From what I've seen, if you have quality block chocolate that is already in temper, and don't heat it above around 95 degrees, it should stay in temper. I have a dehydrator with a thermostat that will let me set the chamber to 90 or 95 degrees. I'm wondering if I could simply chop my chocolate, put it in a glass bowl, and stick it in the dehydrator until the chocolate has melted?

Emily

[Chris Hennes]

Yep, but it takes a long time (overnight, typically). You might be better off just learning the seeding method for tempering chocolate, if you ever plan to do any more chocolate work.

[tikidoc]

Yep, but it takes a long time (overnight, typically). You might be better off just learning the seeding method for tempering chocolate, if you ever plan to do any more chocolate work.

Agreed. As someone new to this whole chocolate making thing (and learning thanks to people like Chris) I can say that the seeding method is really not hard. Use a scale and a microwave and it's pretty easy.

The one thing I was surprised by is how quickly the chocolate can heat up in a microwave. When instructions say to go in 5-10 second increments once you are getting close to target temps, that is not an exaggeration. 5 seconds can heat a pound of chocolate several degrees, better to check the temp more often than necessary than to have to toss it and start over.

[Emily_R]

Thanks guys -- didn't realize it would take quite that long in the dehydrator. I'll try the seeding method. Don't have a microwave so I'll do the double boiler...

[stuartlikesstrudel]

Hi,

I've just started experimenting with a bit of chocolate making and am loving it - I've had a few problems with tempering and I'd love a bit of analysis of my results:

The chocolate i've been using is Lindt 70% dessert chocolate (labelled as a good one to use in desserts/pastry, not sure if it's actually different % cocoa butter).

However, it's out of date by 6 months now, and i don't know if that is the source of my problems. One of my blocks had gotten slightly warm and looked like this when I opened it, the fat had separated I guess, but when I melted it it looked fine.

Anyway, I tried to temper but didn't have a thermometer, so I'm pretty sure I got it wrong. That's fine, I've just bought one so will try again and anticipate more success! Do you think the results I've gotten (see below) are all caused by lack of temper, or is the age of the chocolate also a problem? The big blob is a pool of leftover stuff after I dipped, and it set up with a weird swirl pattern and also was a bit crumbly when I snapped it... this is what I'm unsure about (the streakiness I guess is just varying temperatures of the chocolate around the bowl?).

These are three truffles from the same batch of chocolate - the different combinations of matte, slight shiny bits (is that in temper?!) and even some blooming have me a bit confused.

And lastly, one general question that I haven't seen an answer for - I've been using the method in Kerry's Demo, but I wonder if the chocolate needs to be already tempered to work? (i.e if I buy "regular" chocolate from a supermarket, apart from maybe not tasting great, will it still temper if I get the technique correct?.

Thanks I look forward to many more adventures!

[Kerry Beal]

The demo was seeded as I recall - you need chocolate that is in temper to act as the seed.

[stuartlikesstrudel]

I don't think it was seeded in the demo... appears that the temperature and agitation as it cools is what makes it work.

[Kerry Beal]

I don't think it was seeded in the demo... appears that the temperature and agitation as it cools is what makes it work.

Yup - just looked - I'm wrong. Your's is dark chocolate - what temperatures did you use?

Oops - just read again - you didn't use a thermometer - so it's hard to trouble shoot.

Edited April 30, 2012 by Kerry Beal (log)

[stuartlikesstrudel]

Yeah, I didn't really want to seek too much advice until I've tried a few times with the thermometer, since I know I'm almost certainly way out. I want to know... but I guess I should just wait entirely until I've given it another go... too impatient

Is the old chocolate (about 6 months past use-by) likely to be a problem?

[Kerry Beal]

Yeah, I didn't really want to seek too much advice until I've tried a few times with the thermometer, since I know I'm almost certainly way out. I want to know... but I guess I should just wait entirely until I've given it another go... too impatient

Is the old chocolate (about 6 months past use-by) likely to be a problem?

I use dark chocolate well past it's best by date - they say that good stuff improves with age like fine wine.

[Jim D.]

I have read the threads on tempering but did not find the answer to this question: If you are using the seed method to temper a certain amount of chocolate (for a ganache, for example), how do you deal with the unmelted seed?

Before starting, I remove some of the chocolate to use as seed. I add it at the appropriate time, but it doesn't always melt entirely by the time the chocolate has fallen to the tempering range. Since I need all of the chocolate to make the correct amount for the recipe, I end up returning the bowl to the heat to continue the melting, but I realize that I risk overheating the chocolate and losing the effect of the seed. So what do people do? Just temper more chocolate than you need and then measure out the correct amount? The transfer and measuring process seems a bit messy--and also cools off the chocolate.

[jmacnaughtan]

I always find it better to temper about 50% more than you need; it gives you leeway for unmelted chocolate, spillages etc. Then just weigh out what you need, pour the rest onto some acetate or parchment, let it set then break it up and store it for further use. It keeps for a long time, so there's no waste.

A larger quantity will also hold its temperature better than a smaller one.

Edited January 15, 2013 by jmacnaughtan (log)

[pastrygirl]

I always find it better to temper about 50% more than you need; it gives you leeway for unmelted chocolate, spillages etc. Then just weigh out what you need, pour the rest onto some acetate or parchment, let it set then break it up and store it for further use. It keeps for a long time, so there's no waste.

A larger quantity will also hold its temperature better than a smaller one.

I totally agree.

[mostlylana]

When I make bark I temper the exact amount in my melter as I make so much of it and don't want to scale it out. Of course, bark isn't really exact...

Some tricks I use is to try not to add too much seed. I try to get the seed to melt out at around 33C, then I just do a lot of stirring to increase the amount of Beta 5 crystals. I watch and either keep the pan in the melter or take it out depending on how fast the seed is melting (ie. cooler or warmer environment to control the melt). If you do end up with too much seed, use a heat gun or hair dryer to melt it out. You will have more control than putting it back on the heat and heating up the whole bowl which will retain heat. If you just have a little seed left, try a stick blender. Not only will it eat up the seed, but it will help in tempering your chocolate due to the super fast stirring!

All that being said, I agree with the above posters to temper more chocolate than you need for your purposes. Much easier!

[gap]

Seed should be 25% of what you have melted. Ie., if you melt 1000g of chocolate, you need to seed with 250g of additional chocolate, giving your total amount as 1250g. I don't seed much anymore, but do it with callets to get an even melt. If the last few bits don't melt in, I use an immersion blender to incorporate.

[DianaM]

I always find it better to temper about 50% more than you need; it gives you leeway for unmelted chocolate, spillages etc. Then just weigh out what you need, pour the rest onto some acetate or parchment, let it set then break it up and store it for further use. It keeps for a long time, so there's no waste.

A larger quantity will also hold its temperature better than a smaller one.

This is what I do, too. Especially if you make more than one ganache with the same chocolate, you temper more of it, then scale what you need for each formula.

[Kerry Beal]

If you are determined to use the exact amount - you could use a block of chocolate as your seed. Once tempered - remove the block, melt it in the microwave and add carefully to the tempered chocolate a bit at a time so you don't exceed the working temperature.

[Jim D.]

I have a block of Callebaut milk chocolate that I used this past Christmas, when there were no problems with it at all. Recently I used it to mold chocolates, and it was a failure--had a grayish color and streaks and unmolded with great difficulty or not at all--symptoms of dirty molds and/or untempered chocolate. It got quite warm that day before I turned on the air conditioning, and I thought that might be a factor. I should add that along with the milk choc. I used dark and white in other confections, without incident. Today I decided to experiment with that same milk chocolate to try to get to the bottom of what was wrong.

I tempered the choc. in a Chocovision machine (same as previously). I tested it at the end of the process, and it looked tempered to me. I had prepared molds in three different ways: some plain, some "greased" with cocoa butter, some ungreased but decorated with colored cocoa butter. I had cleaned them repeatedly and polished them with cotton balls (no signs of previous use came off on the cotton). I filled the prepared molds, and everything looked fine--no streaks in the chocolate. But when I unmolded the chocolates (or tried to), I encountered all the previous problems--sides and bottom had a grayish color, top had developed a marbled effect. As far as the greasing of the molds experiment went, the ones with (plain) cocoa butter unmolded significantly more easily than the ungreased ones, whereas those with colored cocoa butter were the most difficult, and the cocoa butter stayed in the mold. But all had the gray and streaked appearance.

As far as the possible heat factor goes, today isn't that warm (the room is about 72 F.--which I know is a bit too warm for chocolate work, but I have done it before without incident).

I'm beginning to conclude that there is something wrong with this milk chocolate. I used previously melted and hardened pieces for the procedure, but I'm assuming that doesn't matter since they are melted (with all crystals) in the tempering process. For seeding I used a fresh piece from the Callebaut block. In other words, I did everything in the tempering process as I always do.

Can a block of chocolate go bad? Can chocolate be untemperable? Is the chocolate cursed? Any suggestions would be most welcome. These experiences have shaken my confidence; I guess I was just enjoying beginner's luck in all my previous chocolate work.

[KennethT]

Is it possible that your block is out of temper because of time spent at higher temp before your a/c turned on? If that's out of temper, then using it for seeding will not result in tempered final product. Can you try tempering it without seeding? It takes a little longer, but not a big deal in small quantities....

[Jim D.]

Is it possible that your block is out of temper because of time spent at higher temp before your a/c turned on? If that's out of temper, then using it for seeding will not result in tempered final product. Can you try tempering it without seeding? It takes a little longer, but not a big deal in small quantities....

Excellent idea. I will give it a try tomorrow and report back. If it turns out to be the explanation, then I will know that chocolate is more temperamental in terms of storage temperature than I previously believed.

[DianaM]

Can a block of chocolate go bad? Can chocolate be untemperable? Is the chocolate cursed? Any suggestions would be most welcome. These experiences have shaken my confidence; I guess I was just enjoying beginner's luck in all my previous chocolate work.

Yes, a block of chocolate can most definitely "go bad," both in terms of flavour (any type of fat will eventually turn rancid; milk and white will spoil faster than dark) and in terms of temper. Like Kenneth T said, if your block got out of temper between Christmas and "recently," then it's useless for seeding. If you have a marble or granite slab, you could temper some by tabling it, and if you've been successful, use the tabled bit to precrystallize the rest of the choc block. If you have a cocoa butter block, you can try chef Eddy's method, my favourite for small quantities of chocolate:

http://www.chefeddy.com/2010/03/temper-or-pre-crystallize-chocolate-using-cocoa-butter/

Can chocolate be untemperable? If you got water into the melted chocolate and it seized, then yes, it is untemperable (can still use it in some baked stuff etc). Otherwise, whenever I had issues with crystallization, it was "operator error."

Is the chocolate cursed? Sometimes it feels that way, doesn't it. Chocolate sure does have a way of keeping us humble. Milk and white are more finicky usually. Sounds trite, but practice really does make perfect.

I am not familiar with the Chocovision machine, but my suggestion would be that you try tempering by hand. Seed with cocoa butter or chocolate that you are certain is in temper, or table the chocolate on marble to precrystallize without the use of seed. Always test the temper before pouring the chocolate in moulds. Hit your moulds briefly with a heat gun before pouring in the chocolate, so the chocolate is not shocked by a very cold mould. Make sure heat can escape quickly from the chocolate in the cavities, so that residual heat does not knock your chocolate out of temper.

[Jim D.]

If you have a cocoa butter block, you can try chef Eddy's method, my favourite for small quantities of chocolate:

http://www.chefeddy.com/2010/03/temper-or-pre-crystallize-chocolate-using-cocoa-butter/

Thanks for all those tips. I had read Eddy's method previously but had forgotten about it. I have cocoa butter in the form of small chips. I would think they would work as well as grating it. What do you think? I like the fact that using cocoa butter is so foolproof. If it turns out that my block of milk chocolate (which is now quite small since I am switching to an E. Guittard product) is ruined, then I have to rethink what I am going to do with my supply of chocolate during the coming Virginia summer. It seems extravagant to run the air conditioning night and day just to save my chocolate, but .... Thanks again for your help. One unsettling thought: What is to prevent cocoa butter from going out of temper just like the milk chocolate appears to have done? It does melt at a higher temperature, so I would guess it would be safer longer.

[keychris]

I bought a small wine fridge which holds temperature at about 15C and humidity of 50%, which is where I store all my chocolate now. It was only about $200 iirc. and hey, if I get sick of chocolate - somewhere to store wine. It's win-win

easiest way to temper by hand (IMHO) if you don't have a nice marble slab is to seed - heat your chocolate to 45C, add 25% of the weight (ie 800g melted + 200g solid) in solid chocolate and stir until it is all melted and at working temp. Another easy way is Chef Eddy's method. It is quite important that you have fine grated butter though - if you add 10g of cocoa butter chips at 35C I think they would probably not completely melt before reaching working temperature.

Finally: Stick at it. Chocolate is particularly tough in warmer weather, so even if you stop for a few months and pick it up when the weather cools again! You've produced some really nice things and it looks like you're learning tons, so keep on learning!