• Introduction

• A Short Word On Crystal Structure

• How To temper

Introduction

Block and buttoned chocolate arrives set and tempered. It is hard. It snaps. It stays solid at room temperature.

In order to turn it into a moulded chocolate or figure, or to cover a centre in an even coating of chocolate, it must be melted to take the new shape.

However, to hold the new shape and stay solid , hard and 'snappable' it must be Tempered.

When cooled, the tempered chocolate will set hard; as it was when it arrived, but in the new form of a figure or coated centre.

No Tempering = No Snappability

Tempering is simply taking chocolate and melting it (at ideal melting point), lowering the temperature (to ideal cooling point) and raising the temperature (to Temper).

It is held 'at temper' in a holding tank (for hand work), or moulding machine, or enrober. At this working temperature you can mould or enrobe the liquid chocolate which, once cooled, will neatly coat a centre or easily demould a chocolate bar or figure. The finished product will be stable, snappable and hard at room temperature. (18 - 22)

each type of chocolate has ideal optimum temperature points at melting point and at temper; so the tempering range will vary slightly according to the type and colour of the chocolate. Your chocolate supplier will give you the ideal melting temperature (mt) and ideal tempering temperature (or working temperature) (TT) of the chocolate you are buying. This will depend on the colour (dark, milk or white) and the usage (moulding or enrobing).

The tempering process is handled automatically by a tempering machine, however the MT and the TT are programmed in or set on the machine according to the specific type of chocolate you are using.

The need for tempering is to do with crystal structure. A short and simplified word on this explains the 'WHY' of the process without going into technical detail. See 'HOW TO'.

A Short Word on Crystal Structure

Solid chocolate (as it arrives in block or button form) has a rigid crystal structure that is broken down by melting.

Once cooled, it will eventually "solidify" but without tempering, the "solidified" crystals are weak and unstable; they readily revert to liquid and give a sticky finished product that will not have the strength or rigidity to demould or stick to a centre.

The liquid chocolate is "tempered" to change its crystalline structure, which is temperature dependant. When cooled after tempering, it will set hard, returning to a strong, solid and stable structure.

The crystals "grow" on themselves. They act quite literally like seeds, growing through the liquid chocolate - so tempering is a process whereby some tempered crystals are introduced to a batch of melted chocolate (sometimes known as 'seeding' the chocolate). They progressively grow through the rest of the batch until it reaches the optimum point, at which it has a balanced structure that holds 'temper' while you work.

The secret is the three optimum points; the right melting point, cooling point and tempering point. These are easily achieved by machine and readily learned by hand. Get them right and the finished product will fall out!

Optimum points are largely determined by the fat content of the chocolate being used. The higher the fat content, the more fluid the chocolate and your supplier will have different chocolates for different purposes to give you the best results for the products you are making. The supplier will always give the optimum points for each type of chocolate, whether it is dark, milk or white.

If the chocolate is 'under tempered' insufficient crystals are present in the melted chocolate to temper it evenly throughout (or it is too warm for them to stabilise).

If the chocolate is 'over tempered' then it will set too readily and go lumpy and thick (or it is too cool to be fluid enough to work).

A common mistake in working with chocolate is to have the chocolate perfectly tempered - and the machine or holding vessel too hot or too cold. Thus the chocolate is taken "off-temper" by the machine and either causes the chocolate to set in it, or to burn. These are extremes, however, and can easily be avoided.

SOMETHING WORTH KNOWING: WELL-TEMPERED CHOCOLATE SHINES BEAUTIFULLY AND EVEN COMPOUND WILL BEHAVE WITH SUPERIOR RESULTS OF SHINE AND SNAPPABILITY IF IT IS TEMPERED.

How to Temper

There are several methods of tempering which readily divide into manual and automatic.

Manual or Hand Tempering

You will need:

· A bain marie with heat source or electric melting kettle · Pallette and fish-tail scraper · Thermometer suitable for chocolate · Ladle (and optional stirring paddle) · Marble slab (see method 2 if not available)

You will need to know:

The optimum temperature points of the chocolate or compound you are using.

The table below gives a general list for standard Couverture - please check with your chocolate supplier for the temperatures of the product you are buying - a space is left for your own notes:

Make sure you do not over or under heat the chocolate.

Method 1 (using Marble Slab)

Having melted chocolate in a bain marie or melting kettle to the correct melting temperature (MT), stir it gently and thoroughly with the ladle (or paddle) ensuring that all the liquid chocolate is evenly melted.

A melting kettle will include a built-in thermostat to ensure that the chocolate is held at the optimum melting temperature. Make sure you do not over or under heat the chocolate if you are working on an open flame and that the temperature is taken from an evenly stirred mix. "Spot" temperatures can cause a misreading.

Pour one half to two thirds of the melted chocolate out on the marble slab. Turn the melting kettle with the remaining chocolate down to the Tempering Temperature and lower the heat on a bain marie.

Start to 'work' the chocolate on the marble with the fish-tail scraper, (cleaning that with the pallette) in scraping and 'turning' movements across the mixture, 'stirring' it over the surface to cool it. The cooling time will depend on the ambient temperature but check it at 5 minutes and then every 2 minutes after that. (It is important not to take the chocolate too low at this point as this can result in overtempering which will give a thicker working chocolate).

Once the chocolate has reached the cooling temperature, return it to the remaining chocolate in the kettle or bain marie. This will still be warmer than the chocolate you have been working. Stir the mixture well and effectively the cooled chocolate will bring the remaining chocolate down to the tempering (or working temperature). A kettle will help to hold this temperature thermostatically.

A few chocolate buttons added to the mixture will also help to lower the temperature.

Tips: * Regularly stir tempered chocolate to keep growing crystals evenly distributed throughout the holding vessel. * Over the working time you may want to very slightly increase the temperature of the kettle to keep the chocolate fluid. Maximum 2 °C over the working period, so less than half a degree at a time is enough.

Method 2 (without Marble)

Melt the chocolate to the melting temperature, ensuring there is enough room in the vessel to add about one quarter of the volume again and still be able to stir without overflow.

Having reached the melting temperature, turn the thermostat down to the tempering temperature and begin to add flaked or button chocolate to the melted chocolate, stirring continuously. Once you have added just under one quarter of the original volume, begin to check with a thermometer that the mass has reached the tempering temperature - allowing for a slight overshoot while all the buttons melt. Add more buttons or flakes in small amounts until TT is reached.

This method is quicker than the first, however it can be more haphazard. As with the first method it is important to keep the chocolate stirred and any increase must be very gradual over the working period.

The Knife Test

In all methods of tempering, the knife test will save you time in the long run. Take the clean (polished) pallette and dip it in the tempered chocolate, shaking of excess so you have an even layer over the knife. Place knife in your fridge or down your cooling tunnel. (Optimum temperature between 8 & 12 °C). Once set, bend the pallette away from the chocolate and it should come off in a strip. The strip of chocolate should have the following qualities;

* It should have 'snappability' ie. it should snap in half * The side against the polished knife should be shiny * It should not melt instantly against your fingers * It should be set in 10 - 20 minutes, without becoming too cold or wet

Tip: if the chocolate on the knife is wet, then the fridge is too cold and condensation has begun to form. This test also gives you a good idea of how long to cool the product you are making.

Machine Tempering

There are three types of machine tempering; categorised as 'in-machine tempering', automatic batch tempering and continuous self-tempering.

1. In-machine Tempering

Small moulding machines have built-in wheels and agitators. Chocolate can either be supplied to them directly from an automatic batch temperer, or it can be tempered in the machine.

Most commonly this is done using method 2 in the hand-tempering procedure. However, the thermostatically controlled moulding machine will give accurate temperature control and the built-in agitator will save you stirring the mixture.

Ideally the machine should be two-thirds full of solid chocolate and left to melt at the melting temperature of the chocolate being used, overnight. Once melted, turn the thermostat down to the working temperature and turn on the agitator. Add solid flakes or buttons to the mass until the tempering temperature is reached. (It may settle once the chocolate has been allowed to stir and rest for a short while.)

Do a knife test and proceed accordingly. Tips apply as for hand tempering.

2. Automatic Batch Tempering

An automatic batch tempering machine is one that is plumbed in, in order to incorporate a jacket of cooling water. These are available in a range of sizes, from the Bench Top 12 and 20 kg to the top of the range 130 kg machine, with computerised controls and a pump system direct to the machine.

The operating principle is the same for all automatic batch temperers, although the larger ones can be set by computer controlled timing and temperature devices so that no operator is needed once the machine is filled.

Method

The machine is filled with solid chocolate and set at the melting temperature on the thermostat by the operator or pre-programmed.

Once melting temperature is reached throughout the mass, the automatic tempering button is pressed and the thermostat lowered to the tempering temperature. The machine stirs the chocolate, accurately cools it and brings it back up to tempering temperature with 20 to 40 minutes, depending on the batch size. The machine keeps the mixture tempered through the working period, stirring it continuously until it is ready for melting again.

3. Self-Tempering

Self-tempering machines are usually purchased as a self-tempering moulding machine or self-tempering enrobing machine.

continuous self-tempering means that quite literally the solid chocolate (broken blocks, beans or melted) can be poured into the machine and it will instantly supply tempered chocolate to the machine for production. In other words, the machine tempers chocolate itself - continuously.

In-machine tempering is often described as self-tempering, however it does not strictly adhere to the true definition. The operator has to oversee the temperatures for 'in-machine' tempering; whereas a continuous self-tempering machine needs only a chocolate supply. It will automatically produce tempered chocolate throughout the working period.

• Back to Chocolate Processes
• Go To Working With Chocolate
• Help
• FAQ
• Read What Our Customers Say About Us!
  

Back to www.vantagehouse.com