Tempering chocolate at home: a description of the process

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

To make your own chocolate, you must strictly follow a certain technology. To do this, all the original components must go through certain stages of production. One of them - tempering chocolate - is not so easy to do at home. It is necessary to clearly imagine the process itself and the need for it.

The essence of the procedure

To properly temper chocolate at home, you need to understand what happens to the products as a result of such processing. The main ingredient of the initial mass is cocoa butter. When molten, it has a liquid and viscous consistency. After cooling, the mixture solidifies. If the process proceeds uncontrollably, then crystals of different sizes are formed. This negatively affects the quality of the finished product. Tempering chocolate at home allows the cocoa butter to gradually assume its most stable form. After that, the product will be easier to process. In this form, its crystallization will bepass more evenly.

The essence of the process is that the chocolate mass is first heated to a certain temperature. Then it needs to be slightly cooled. And then the mixture is heated again. The result is a product of the desired quality, which will be stored for a long time without visible changes in its structure.

Process Purpose

Before tempering chocolate at home, you need to clearly understand the consequences of such processing. As a result of this procedure, it is possible:

1. Increase the temperature at which finished chocolates will melt in your hands. It is very important. After all, few people will like, for example, a candy that will begin to melt immediately upon contact with fingers.
2. Partly reduce the size of the finished product. So it will be easier to get it out of the mold.
3. Exclude the spontaneous formation of an unpleasant whitish coating on the surface of finished products in the form of stripes or individual spots.
4. Speed up the final cooling procedure. Experts have determined that tempered chocolate hardens much faster. This is especially important in the case when the mass must be given a certain complex shape. Here sometimes the counting of time goes by seconds.
5. Give the product a nice gloss. Characteristic shine makes the product more attractive.

This product looks beautiful, breaks well and can be stored for a long time at room temperature without visible changes in structure.

Special equipment

For such processing under production conditions, as a rule, a tempering machine is used. It consists of a container, inside of which there is a mixing device, which is driven by an electric motor. The body of the apparatus is equipped with a steam jacket. Heating elements work from it, which provide heating of products placed in the tank. You can set the required temperature or make other settings using a special control panel. The steam jacket is also connected to pipes for cold water and waste waste. A tempering machine is needed in order to ensure a uniform viscosity of the chocolate mass, as well as to guarantee the mechanical resistance of the finished product. These devices may differ:

• working tank capacity (from 5 to 1000 liters);
• dimensions;
• type of mixing body (auger or agitator).

The choice of one or another device depends on the volume of production and frequency of use.

At home, as a rule, more compact devices with a stirrer with a capacity of up to 1 kilogram are used.

Processing on a marble board

Those who like to make all kinds of sweets themselves should know how to temper chocolate at home. This can be done in different ways. Each of them has its own advantages. The hostess can only choose the most convenient option for herself. As an example, considermarble board method.

In this case it is necessary:

1. Heat the dark chocolate in a bowl to 45 degrees.
2. 2/3 of this mass pour onto a marble board.
3. Carefully “drive” it on the board with a spatula and palette until the product begins to crystallize. The temperature of the chocolate should drop to 27 degrees. You can check this with a thermometer. For safety, it is better to use a special device with a laser device.
4. Transfer the processed mass back to the container. The temperature of the mixture will reach 32 degrees. At the same time, it must be constantly stirred.

Now the mass can be poured into the mold, and if the work is done correctly, then literally in 3 minutes it will harden.

Steam bath treatment

If there is no marble board available, you can try another option. So how do you temper chocolate at home? For this you will need:

• pan;
• bowl;
• shoulder blade.

The procedure includes the following operations:

1. Chocolate should be chopped randomly and put into a bowl.
2. Pour water into a saucepan and put it on low heat.
3. Place a bowl of chocolate on top of it so that its bottom touches the liquid. In this case, the product will begin to gradually melt.
4. As soon as the mass becomes liquid and its temperature reaches the desired value, the pan must be removed from the stove and wrapped in a towel to save heat. Content notshould freeze ahead of time.
5. For seed, add a piece of hard, previously tempered chocolate to the bowl.
6. Stir with a spatula until the temperature of the mass reaches the desired level.

Further, the prepared mixture can already be used for its intended purpose. It can be poured into a mold or molded into a figure using special tools.

Main indicator

It is necessary to ensure that the temperature in the process of tempering chocolate corresponds to the desired level. Otherwise, all efforts will be reduced to zero.

It is worth noting that each stage has its own temperature regimes. And for different types of chocolate, they are slightly different. This circumstance must be taken into account before starting work.

Temperature mode of the tempering process for different types of chocolate

n/n	Type of chocolate	Temperature by stages (degrees)
1	Dark	47-50	27-28	30-32
2	White and milky	44-45	25-26	29-30

By adhering to these modes, you can get chocolate, which, after hardening, will meet all the declared characteristics. After processing, you first need to make a test. To do this, a couple of drops of the mixture must be applied to a film, table or paper. After 5-7 minutes it should harden. If the piece turned out smooth and glossy,work can be considered completed. Otherwise, the procedure will have to be repeated.

Classic Methods

There are certain methods of tempering chocolate, with the help of which the original product can be turned into a plastic mass with a pleasant glossy sheen without foreign inclusions and impurities. In cooking, there are three main options:

1. On a marble cutting board.
2. Seeded in a steam bath (or double boiler).
3. In the microwave. In this case, the crushed product must be collected in a special container. Put it in the oven and heat at low power. Every 15 seconds, the dishes must be taken out and the melted chocolate should be thoroughly mixed. In this case, small hard lumps must necessarily remain. As soon as the whole mass becomes liquid and homogeneous, the container must be removed from the microwave and cooled to the desired temperature.

Any of these methods are applicable for home use. The choice of a specific option will depend on three factors:

• quantities of the initial product (for small volumes it is better to use a microwave oven);
• availability of the necessary equipment in the house;
• wishes of the hostess.

Once all these questions are answered, work can begin.

Temperature control

If the hostess does not have a special non-contact thermometer, do not despair. This is not yet a reason to abandon the plan. As practice shows, it is very easy totemper chocolate without a thermometer. In this case, a regular kitchen thermometer will do. It is ideal, for example, for working on a marble board. You just need to lower its contact part into the chocolate mass and follow the indications on the dial. True, not everyone likes this method. Indeed, during the measurement process, the device must be in contact with the product, and this is not entirely hygienic. Some housewives find another way out. For initial heating, they use a microwave oven. There you can set the temperature yourself and control the result on the monitor. At other stages, the mass heating level is checked manually.

To do this, a drop of the mixture must be applied to the lower lip. It is the most delicate and sensitive organ of the human body. The drop must be cool. After all, the normal temperature of the body is 36.6 degrees. Such control is very convenient in practice and does not require the cost of additional equipment.