The Different Ways of Chocolate Tempering by Hand
Chocolate become rich and shiny because the commercial chocolatiers and chocolate makers temper the chocolate candy they sell. This is because although chocolate is submitted to conching to refine cocoa liquor grains, it still needs tempering to refine those grains that are large enough to be felt by the tongue.
A tempered chocolate is a tempting chocolate. It doesn’t bloom; it’s not blotchy, dull, grainy or grittycertainly unappealing traits that are unfamiliar to commercial chocolate candy.
Today’s modern chocolatiers prize efficiency and productivity that’s why they’ve ushered chocolate tempering machines into their work kitchens. There is still value in being able to temper by hand as some factors could still affect its usage like unexpected power failures. In these scenarios, knowing how to temper manually could really give you an edge over the competition.
One way you could temper your chocolate by hand is through tabliering. This process originated from France and involves spreading and scraping melted chocolate over an endothermic surface, such as a stone or marble slab, until it cools down to its correct tempered temperature and form.
You have to gather all the materials such as a pound of chocolate, bread knife, mixing bowl, double boiler, chopping board and a rubber spatula. Cut the chocolate into strips and melt it in a double boiler, slowly stirring to avoid burning the chocolates. Once it has totally melted pour half of the mixture onto the stone slab and fold continually using a spatula until it reaches the right thickness and consistency. Do the same on the rest of the chocolate melt, integrating it into the previously cooled chocolate mush.
Another way of tempering chocolates by hand is through seeding. The same materials are needed in this method, and are almost similarly processed as in tabliering: you melt three fourths of the chocolate; the other non-melted one-fourth is mixed with the melt in the mixing bowl, aiming for the same texture and consistency in tabliering. The object is to “seed” the crystals in the melted chocolate so they follow the structure of the ones in the non-melted chocolate.
After warming up the mush following cooling, the chocolate can now be used for shaping and designing your chocolate confectionery; you can dip or coat fruits and mold your chocolate in your desired shape and design. All throughout, always check on the temperature to make sure it remains constant so that the chocolate doesn’t distemper.
