Amateur confectioners must have heard about tempering chocolate, but not everyone knows what it is. But you can temper chocolate even at home. In this article you will find some easy recipes for this process, which you can do with your own hands just in your own kitchen.

What is chocolate tempering

If you decide to understand the intricacies of tempering chocolate, then you should start with the basics.

The process itself is the crystallization of cocoa butter, occurring by heating the chocolate to a melting point with its further cooling and re-heating.

At the same time, one of the main structural components of chocolate, namely cocoa butter, acquires a more solid, dense state. You can make various decorations for cakes and desserts from such chocolate, as it holds its shape well.

Which chocolate is better to choose for tempering

All types of chocolate are suitable for crystallization: milk, dark, and even white. Although the latter is more difficult to crystallize due to the low content of the key component - cocoa butter.

For beginners in this business, dark chocolate will be an ideal raw material - it will easily find the desired shape. Only a heat-resistant product is not suitable for the indicated purposes, since it is not intended for melting.

Among the variety of options, we recommend choosing Belgian chocolate, French and Swiss. Drops, or callets, are ideal for implementing ideas. They have a convenient shape, due to which melting occurs quickly and evenly.

The nuances of kindling different types of chocolate

Which chocolate is best suited we figured out.The next step is to familiarize yourself with the rules for the proper tempering of chocolate. There are some nuances here that you need to consider in order to avoid mistakes and prepare the perfect product.

Before the tempering process, we recommend that you purchase a special temperature sensor that will help control the temperature.

  1. To work with chocolate, it is very important to adjust the temperature in the room - the norm is 17 degrees, and the maximum level is 22 degrees.
  2. Since not every house has a marble or granite board, it is enough to prepare ice. You can add salt to it - it lowers the degree.
  3. If you purchased a marble board, then you must have additionally bought a spatula - a special spatula for working on marble.
  4. When melting dark chocolate, stick to a 45 - 50 degree temperature. Then follows cooling to 27 degrees, and again heating to 32 degrees. You can continue to work with such chocolate, giving it various forms.
  5. If you choose milk chocolate, stick to such temperatures: first 40 - 45 degrees, then cooling at 25 - 26 degrees, and then heating to 29 - 30 degrees. After such manipulations, the chocolate is ready to go.
  6. Tempering white chocolate requires such a temperature range: we drown at 40 - 45 degrees, cool to 25 - 26 and heat to 29 - 30.

Tip. If the chocolate quickly thickened, and you did not have time to work with it, we recommend warming it up or adding a little hot chocolate, but do not overdo it.

These are such small, but significant nuances in the tempering of chocolate that a beginner needs to know.

Chocolate tempering in a water bath

In order to melt chocolate in a water bath, do the following:

  1. We place our callets in a container and put it in a water bath. The bottom of the chocolate ware should not touch the water.
  2. Once the chocolate has melted and acquired a liquid consistency, remove it from the heat and wrap it with a towel to maintain the temperature.
  3. Add a slice of chocolate to the liquid composition, which is already amenable to tempering (it is needed to start the crystallization process). Stir the chocolate to achieve a uniform consistency.

This method does not require a lot of time, and chocolate is finally ready to make tiles, chocolates or create jewelry of certain shapes.

Important. The amount of chocolate to be added to melted depends on the temperature of the latter. The higher it is, the more you need to add solid cold chocolate.

How to melt in the microwave

If you are not a fan of using a water bath - long, bulky, uncomfortable - then for you there is a great way to temper chocolate in the microwave:

  1. First you need to prepare chocolate for melting. To do this, you need a grater. Rub chocolate on it and place in a container.
  2. The microwave power should be 800 - 1000 W. We warm the chocolate and monitor its condition every 15 seconds. It should not overheat.
  3. At the moment when the mass has almost melted, and only a small part of the chip has remained, we get the chocolate.
  4. Stir it to homogeneity and add a slice of cold tempered chocolate, which will bring the crystallization process to the end.

Here is such a simple way you can use at home.

On open fire

Tempering chocolate over an open fire will not worksince he does not tolerate such high temperatures.

Also, the product does not like moisture - and this applies to any crystallization method - therefore, the container in which you will cook must be dry.

Chocolate tempering for cake decorating

For a beginner in the confectionery art, we suggest trying to form a flower from temperamental chocolate.

To do this, you will need to melt the chocolate in the callets in the microwave, weighing about 100 g of white (if you use dyes) or dark:

  1. Put chocolate in a plastic container in the microwave for 30 seconds, every 10 - 15 of which we check the condition of the product.
  2. When it melts, its temperature will be within 45 degrees. Next, mix the mass and add 25% callets to complete the tempering. Stir the composition to a homogeneous consistency.
  3. If you choose white chocolate, add fat-soluble dye at this stage. If you use dark, then you can already begin to form flower petals or other decoration elements.
  4. Check chocolate for solidification. To do this, take a teaspoon and dip in a sweet composition, and then wait a bit. If chocolate quickly hardened - you did everything right. Otherwise, start tempering again.
  5. Fill the sphere shape with a small amount of chocolate and evenly distribute so that it is light in a thin layer. We form the basis for the flower with the help of a ring wrapped inside with acetate tape.
  6. Pour chocolate into the ring - this is the basis on which the flower will be attached. We collect our decoration: the base of the petal, that is, the place of attachment, grease with chocolate and fasten to the base. In the middle of the flower we have 3 petals, and the rest we fasten around. The result is a very beautiful, worthy decoration for your dessert.

For the preparation of glaze

So that the glaze has an attractive, high-quality look, it lends itself to tempering. The method is identical to the above, as it is the most convenient and reliable.

How to do it at home:

  1. Chocolate is heated to 45 degrees, and then chocolate callets are added in an amount equal to ⅓ of the molten volume.
  2. Chocolate is mixed and heated to 30 degrees.

Such glaze can be stored in a closed container in a cool place.

Making liquid chocolate for fondue

The recipe for making liquid chocolate will come in handy for those who, for some reason, have not yet acquired a fondue. In this case, the chocolate should not solidify, but rather, it should be constantly maintained in a liquid state.

To do this, choose a quality product. The fire when melting chocolate should be weak. After kindling it is advisable to add a piece of oil, but at the same time, observe the correct proportions, according to the recipe.

Ingredients:

  • chocolate - 200 g;
  • butter - 50 g;
  • liquor - 1 tbsp. l

Cooking:

  1. Grind the chocolate and melt it in a water bath, stirring constantly.
  2. Next, add a piece of oil.
  3. When the mass comes to a boil, pour in the liquor (it is used to give flavor).
  4. If fondue is made for children, replace the liquor with syrup.

The composition is ready to use. In it, you can dip pieces of various fruits, berries on skewers, as well as marshmallows and similar sweets.

Now, with confidence, even a beginner can repeat the interesting process of tempering chocolate at home, for which his name itself sounded intimidating before. Be sure to invite guests and delight them with various delicacies made of such chocolate - you don't have to try such yummy very often.

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