[cake26]

hello,
what would be the best way to temper chocolate (for every kind of chocolate) so it wouldn't crystallized so quick (or at all)? what kind of choclate would be the best to use ?

 

[flipflopgirl]

A huge question with many answers.
I was going to link a few archived threads and there are so so many that it was hard to choose.
Use the CT search feature and plug in temper chocolate with the member name @foodpump (resident expert on all things confectionary) and read.
If you cannot find your answers from any of his posts then you most likely need a class or two.

Merry Christmas!

mimi

 

[chefpeon]

Ditto what mimi said. And the "best" chocolate to use for shine and snap is couverture chocolate. Tempering is easy but it takes some practice. There are tons of videos on YouTube on how to temper and there is more than one method. I prefer the seeding method myself.

 

[cake26]

thank you for your advices - the thing is that in the past i did try tempering choclate on "ben-marie"(large bowl on boiling water) while working with termomether and few days later after molding it , it got all crystalized ,so i wondered if there is a way so it wouldn't happen...

 

[chefpeon]

thank you for your advices - the thing is that in the past i did try tempering choclate on "ben-marie"(large bowl on boiling water) while working with termomether and few days later after molding it , it got all crystalized ,so i wondered if there is a way so it wouldn't happen...

If it crystallized, then either you didn't temper properly or it was stored improperly, or both. Tempering takes practice. A good thing to do is when you think it's tempered, dip the tip of a metal spatula into the chocolate and let it sit. It should set up at room temp within 5 minutes. If it doesn't do that, it's not tempered. Another common error people make is they try to temper poor quality chocolate or chocolate that is "untemperable", like commercially made chocolate chips. You will get the best results with a high quality couverture chocolate.

 

[cake26]

ok. i will try that.thanks
is it the same method for white choclate? or should i do something else?
when you say "If it doesn't do that, it's not tempered." what should i do in that case? is it saveable or should i start all over again?
thanks again for your time and advice - i really appreciate it .

 

[flipflopgirl]

One of many searchable threads....
https://cheftalk.com/threads/favorite-chocolate-for-candy-making.15346/#post-119414

mimi

 

[fatcook]

"(large bowl on boiling water)

This may be a part of the problem, the water should not be boiling - it should just barely be simmering.

 

[chefpeon]

ok. i will try that.thanks
is it the same method for white choclate? or should i do something else?
when you say "If it doesn't do that, it's not tempered." what should i do in that case? is it saveable or should i start all over again?
thanks again for your time and advice - i really appreciate it .

If your chocolate doesn't set up at room temperature within 5 minutes, it's not tempered and you have to start the process all over again. You can temper white, milk and dark chocolate; you just have to make sure it's "real" quality chocolate with cocoa butter in it. Each kind has slightly different target temperatures, so pay attention to that. Again, couverture chocolate is best. It's expensive but worth it. Make sure you have an accurate thermometer as well. A good way to test a thermometer is to bring water to a rolling boil and put your thermometer in it. It should read 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100 degrees celsius). If it reads a different temperature, you will know how "off" your thermometer is and you can make adjustments accordingly. Also, YouTube has a ton of videos on tempering chocolate. Watch more than one. There's different methods and you may prefer to do one over the other. And practice, practice practice. The more you do it, the better you'll get at it.

 

[cake26]

thank you !