3.3.7 Supporting Evidence: Chocolate Tempering

Cocoa butter is a magical fat and we need to understand it to have the best experience with chocolate.  Cacao butter can crystallize in 6 different forms.  Just as Carbon can take the form of graphite or diamonds, cacao butter can take different crystalline structures.  Form 4  melts  around 84 degrees. Forms 1-3 melt lower than this.   Consequently, Forms 1-4 don't hold shape  at room temperature and get your hands gooey.  Form V is the ideal crystalline structure as it melts around 94 degrees so it melts perfectly in our mouth. (Note: it is also used in medicines as a suppository carrier as it melts so well right around body temperature)
During the tabling process, we hold chocolate in the 84 - 93 degree range to offer chocolate time to crystallize as Form V crystals.  With seeding, we initiate Form V by introducing a seed of Form V crystals so that it doesn't have to be held for as long in the 80's.

White, milk and dark chocolate can all be tempered.  Ganache (once water is added to chocolate) can not be tempered.
Tempering is an awareness of how the cacao butter crystallizes at different temperatures.
Couverture is considered by professional chocolatiers to have the right ratio of fat to solids for "covering" truffles, molded chocolates.  This is a great product to use while tempering.
Chocolate chips intentionally don't have as high of a cacao butter ratio so that they can hold their form even when baked.  This chocolate can be tempered; however, it is not ideal for molding or dipping.  

    1)    Melt chocolate to around 120 degrees over barely simmering double boiler.  Stir occasionally.   
    2)    Now let it cool on it’s own.  Seed with 1/4 total volume (or 1/3 of the melted volume/weight) a little at a time to reach 94 degrees.  
    3)    Allow to cool to 85 degrees.  (Not absolutely necessary)
    4)    Reheat to 88-90 degrees.  (Chocolate heats FAST.  Do in 10 second increments over recently boiled water)

    1.    After the initial melting and cooling of the choolate, DO NOT allow chocolate to go above 94 degrees or you will take it out of temper.  The cacao butter melts completely and will bloom or not harden at room temperature..  
    2.    Seed chocolate will stop seeding/melting around 94 degrees where cacao butter melts. You can remove any unmelted seed chocolate or blend it with an immersion blender.  
    3.     I like to start seeding around 112 degrees to insure most of the seed is melted by 94 degrees
    4.    Have recently boiled water nearby to keep warm in ideal range 88-90 in 10 second segments.  The less chocolate in your bowl, the faster it will heat up so be extra careful near the bottom of the bowl.
    5.    If using discs or pellets, you want some seed chocolate in right when it reaches 94 degrees but not a lot unless you are going to blend it.   If seeding with a large bar, it doesn't matter as you will then take out the rest of the "seeding bar".
    6.    Many sources recommend cooling it to somewhere in the 80's (like 85 degrees) and then reheat to 88-90.   (I have had similar results simply cooling it to 89 degrees and beginning to work with it.  This is impacted by whether you are starting with tempered or untempered chocolate).
    7.    Recognize that using tempered vs. non-tempered chocolate will be different and more precision is necessary when starting with an untempered chocolate.
    8.    If you are using tempered chocolate you can basically just take it to molten(i.e. 94-96) and then recool to between 88 and 90.  This will give you a reasonable product.
    9.    Larger batches hold temperature more steady.  
    10.    Glass bowls hold temperature well (which lengthens both the cooling phase and the time when actually working with it "in temper."
    11.    Dehydrator is a good way to hold temperature in the mid 80's while working with it.  You can even put your tools in the dehydrator.
    12.    Bear in mind that  different chocolate from different manufacturers and regions with varying amounts of solids/fat/sugar are going to have different IDEAL tempering temperatures and timings.
    13.    I see "tempered" as a spectrum more than a binary condition.  Being outside of "ideal" ranges likely will lead to some fat blooming but if you are within reasonable guidelines, it will work okay and still harden appropriately rather than forming a lumpy mass.
    14.    My best guess is that anywhere from 85-93 degrees will yield a reasonably tempered chocolate. (depending on butter content and accuracy of thermometer and humidity in your kitchen and how long you hold it in the 80's/low 90's will impact how perfect your chocolate looks.  You will get a tempered-like product)
    15.    Loads of people are scared of chocolate being too hot (i.e. over 130 degrees).  When using a water bath to heat it, I have never had trouble with too hot--even as high as 155 degrees. (If there is very little chocolate in the bowl, then it can break at high temps.  This is fun to do at the end of one of your chocolate making days.  Heat chocolate scraps and watch it break from heat.)
    16.    Some recommend leaving it chocolate in the melted 110-120 stage for 10 minutes to 2 hours prior to seeding.  My personal belief is that it is more significant to hold it in the 80's longer as opposed to holding it above 108.
    17.    Yes you can temper chocolate that  you have unsuccessfully tempered or that you didn't use all of on your last batch.  
    18.    Chocolate heats quickly. It heats even faster when there is less chocolate in the bowl.   When in the delicate range of the mid-->high 80's, heat in 5-10 second increments over recently boiled water to insure you don't go above 94 degrees.
    19.    I don’t encourage using cool water or ice baths.  I prefer patience.  If you using a water bath, you need to continually stir.
    20.    White and milk chocolates are tempered in a similar process to dark chocolate simply with different temperatures being used.
    21.    Couverture chocolate by law must have at least 30% cocoa butter.  Semi sweet chocolate chips could have as little as 10%.  They are designed to not melt in the oven. (more solids, less butter).  It is not necessarily harder to temper chocolate chips but it is harder to work with for molding and dipping.  
    22.    Yes you can overseed (use too much seed chocolate) or underseed — this basically affects viscosity.
    23.    I like to have some rice krispies on hand to throw into the bowl at the end of my tempering work and make little tempered chocolate krispy treats.  Additions include orange zest, rose water, crystallized ginger, spices.
    24.    Improper tempering results in blooming fat, streaking fat, malleable chocolate rather than crisp
    25.    Tempering is about the Cocoa butter
    26.    Two ways to cheat tempering is to use compound coating which is not really chocolate or to refrigerate or freeze your product.  You can refrigerate molded chocolates and when they are still cold will function like properly tempered chocolate.  As they sit out of the fridge longer, then they will begin to lose their structure.   Same thing for chocolate dipped strawberries.

Butter Knife - Dip a butter knife into chocolate.  Watch it set up/harden.
Silpat  Pour a thin amount on silpat and watch it set up.
Finger Swipe — Pour a wide strip of chocolate onto parchment or waxed paper.  Next, draw your finger through the chocolate in one swipe.  If the line is clean and holds its shape, it is tempered.  If the sides appear grainy and uneven, look closer.
Temper should ideally set within 5 minutes.  (Again, temper is a spectrum and I have made batches of chocolate that didn't set up in 10 minutes but were wonderful the next morning.)

Basically heat it up until it melts.  Stir occasionally or it will be very hot and take more time to cool.
Easiest way to tell the temperature without a thermometer is when your seed chocolate stops melting into the whole mass, you are around 94 degrees.  
Wait another 5-10 minutes or do a swipe test and you will get a reasonably tempered product.
When the edges start getting hard, it’s getting below 84 degrees
Basically, if the seeds don’t melt and it’s still liquidy enough to pour, it means that you are between 84 and 94 and most likely "in temper."