Elemanov Nurlan CHOCOLATE TEMPERING PLAN I III

Elemanov Nurlan CHOCOLATE TEMPERING

PLAN I. III. IV. Tempering Chocolate and Why How To Temper Chocolate Tempering Chocolate Prepare different types of Chocolate

I. TEMPERING CHOCOLATE AND WHY Cocoa butter is the fat in the cacao bean that gives chocolate its unique mouth-feel and stable properties. To be considered “real” chocolate, a chocolate bar or chunk can contain only cocoa butter, not any other fat. Cocoa butter is the reason why you have to “temper” real chocolate.

I. TEMPERING CHOCOLATE AND WHY Cocoa butter is fat that is composed of three to four glycerides of fatty acids. What complicates matters in chocolate making is that each of these different fatty acids solidifies at a different temperature. Once you melt a chocolate bar, the fatty acid crystals separate. The objective in tempering melted chocolate is to entice the disparate fatty acid crystals of cocoa butter back into one stable form.

I. TEMPERING CHOCOLATE AND WHY Tempering is like organizing individual dancers at a party into a Conga line. For chocolate, temperature and motion are the party organizers that bring all the individual dancing crystals of fatty acids together in long lines and, in the process, create a stable crystallization throughout the chocolate mass. Also, strange as it may sound, the temperature at which well-tempered chocolate melts is much higher than untempered chocolate because the fatty acid crystals in tempered chocolate are locked together tightly—it takes a higher temperature to pull them apart. Being tightly bound, welltempered chocolate is resistant to developing chocolate bloom—that whitish film, streaks or spots of cocoa butter that form on the surface of chocolate.

I. TEMPERING CHOCOLATE AND WHY In the tempering process, melted chocolate is first cooled, causing the fatty acid crystals to form nuclei around which the other fatty acids will crystallize. Once the crystals connect, the temperature is then raised to keep them from solidifying. To help the chocolate to crystallize during the tempering process, chocolate makers use one technique called seeding. The "seed" is tempered chocolate in hunks, wafers or grated bits. It is added at the beginning of the tempering process. These crystals of tempered chocolate act like magnets, attracting the other loose crystals of fatty acids to begin the crystallization process that results in well-tempered chocolate.

II. HOW TO TEMPER CHOCOLATE How do you temper chocolate, and why do you do it? The short answer is that chemically, chocolate is composed of lots of different little crystals (six to be exact) but the desirable ones are called beta crystals. The development and formation of these beta crystals are what makes well-tempered chocolate. If the cocoa butter rises to the surface, some people commonly think their chocolate has gotten moldy and toss it out. If you’ve done that, you’ve tossed out perfectly good, but unattractive, chocolate.

II. HOW TO TEMPER CHOCOLATE As you can see, there is a dull white sheen on the surface of this piece of chocolate. And that’s what happens to chocolate that’s not properly tempered: the cocoa fat rises to the surface and “blooms”, making it unappealing and unattractive. When you buy chocolate, like a candy bar or chocolate in bulk, the chocolate has been tempered and it should be nice and shiny and snap when you break it. Yet if you leave your candy bar in a warm car and later open it up, often it’ll become white and gray. The heat caused your chocolate to lose it’s temper. When you buy chocolate for baking, it should arrive well-tempered. (If buying pistoles in bulk, they may be dull from becoming scratched during transport, which is not to be confused with untempered. ) But once you chop it up and melt it, thebeta crystals change, the chocolate loses its temper, and you’ll need to re-temper it again if you plan to use it as a coating.

II. HOW TO TEMPER CHOCOLATE Pages and volumes of technical research have been written about tempering chocolate, but here are the main reasons for all you home cooks out there: To avoid fat (and sugar) bloom, characterized by unappealing white streaks or blotches on the surface. To raise the melting temperature of finished chocolate so it doesn’t melt on contact with your fingers. To preserve the keeping quality of chocolate by stratifying the fat. To cool chocolate quickly. Tempered chocolate cools fast, within 5 minutes. Tempered chocolate will shrink slightly when cooled, which allows it to slip out of molds easily. To give chocolate a glossy, shiny appearance, and a crisp, clean snap when you break it.

II. HOW TO TEMPER CHOCOLATE As I’ve said, you don’t need to temper chocolate if you’re going to bake a chocolate cake or make chocolate ice cream. The only time you need to temper chocolate is when you need an attractive, shiny coating for candies that will sit at room temperature. You can get around tempering by dipping chocolates in melted, untempered chocolate and storing them in the refrigerator. Just remove them from the refrigerator a few minutes prior to serving them. The coolness of the refrigerator will stratify the cocoa fat and it won’t bloom.

II. HOW TO TEMPER CHOCOLATE There are many different methods for tempering chocolate. Some are a bit complicated, and some are really messy, especially for home cooks. I rely on a thermometer, which is foolproof. It’s best to use a dark chocolate that is no higher than 70% in cocoa solids. Higher percentage chocolates (and some artisan bean-to-bar chocolates) can be quite acidic, and may behave differently. I developed a simple 3 -step method that’s a snap for home cooks. All you need is anaccurate chocolate thermometer, although a good digital thermometer will work.

III. TEMPERING CHOCOLATE 1. The first step is to melt the dark chocolate in a clean, dry bowl set over simmering water, to about 115º-120º F (46º-49ºC. )

III. TEMPERING CHOCOLATE 2. Remove from heat and let it cool to the low 80ºs F (27ºC. ) Drop a good-sized chunk of solid (and tempered) chocolate in, which provides insurance by ‘seeding’ the melted chocolate with good beta crystals. While cooling, stir frequently. Motion equals good crystallization, aka, tempering.

III. TEMPERING CHOCOLATE 3. The last step is the most important: It’s bringing the chocolate up to the perfect temperature, where it’s chock-full of those great beta crystals. This occurs in most dark chocolates between 88° and 91° F (31º-32ºC. ) (Milk chocolate tempers at 86º-88ºF, 30º-31ºC. Please note that chocolates can vary, so check with manufacturer if unsure about your particular chocolate. )

III. TEMPERING CHOCOLATE 4. Remove what’s left of the chunk of ‘seed’ chocolate, and your chocolate is dipworthy: you can dip all the chocolates you want and all will be perfectly tempered. Don’t let it get above 91° F (32ºC) or you’ll have to begin the process all over again. If it drops below the temperatures, rewarm it gently to bring it back up.

IV. PREPARE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CHOCOLATE Step 1. You need to heat the chocolate to melt all fatty acid crystals. Chop the chocolate into small pieces. The smaller the pieces, the quicker your chocolate will melt and temper. Set aside about 25 to 30 percent of the chocolate. There is no need to be exact on this measurement, as you just want enough unmelted, tempered chocolate to start the seeding process. Place the remaining 70 to 75 percent of chopped chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on half-power, being very careful to stir the mixture every minute until it is almost completely melted, which should take about four to five minutes.

IV. PREPARE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CHOCOLATE Step 1. You need to heat the chocolate to melt all fatty acid crystals. Remove the bowl of chocolate from the microwave and stir to cool it slightly. Removing the bowl before all the chocolate is completely melted will help prevent over heating. You don’t want your chocolate to burn. Those last bits of solid chocolate will melt as you stir. Using a thermometer, check the temperature of the melted chocolate—it should be between: Dark Chocolate: 114 – 118° F (46 – 48° C) Milk Chocolate: 105 – 113° F (40 – 45° C) White Chocolate: 100 – 110° F (37 – 43° C) Note: be very careful as the high milk and sugar content in white chocolate will cause it to burn easily. I’ve indicated a range of temperatures above as not all thermometers are perfectly accurate.

IV. PREPARE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CHOCOLATE Step 2. Add the seed chocolate you have set aside. Start adding handfuls of the grated chocolate you set aside to the melted chocolate. Stir in the seeding chocolate bits continuously until the desired temperature (see below) is reached and the bits have dissolved completely. This could take anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the temperature of your environment. Your chocolate should now be tempered. Dark chocolate should be between 88 – 89° F (31° C) Milk and white chocolates should be between 84 – 86° F (29 – 30° C)

IV. PREPARE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CHOCOLATE Step 2. Add the seed chocolate you have set aside. Make sure to stir the tempered chocolate and check the temperature during the time you are using it for dipping or molding. You can put the tempered chocolate mass in the microwave for 10 – 15 seconds at halfpower if the temperature starts to drop. Just make sure that you don’t raise the temperature above 90° F (32° C) or you will lose your temper and have to start over again at Step 1. A heating pad put around the bottom and sides of the bowl will help if you are doing a lot of work at one time. Again, make sure the heating pad doesn’t raise the temperature of the chocolate too high. Keep stirring and checking the chocolate mass with a thermometer.