Fun Facts About Chocolate Tempering
Temperature:
Chocolate is best stored in a dark, dry, cool place, about 13-15 degrees Celsius.
It should not be stored in the fridge nor near strong smelling foods as it will absorb the smell very easily.
If chocolate is wrapped and stored properly it can be kept even for a year.
Regarding the tempering, it is always best to temper chocolate at room temperature (around 20-22 degrees C) .
Water:
Tempering does not go well with water. If you need to temper your chocolate, do not mix it with water. The slightest amount of moisture will cause it to seize.
For this reason you should always make sure that all utensils and the machine are completely dry and that the chocolate isn't more than 10 degrees colder than room temperature. Otherwise condensation will form on the chocolate's surface as soon as it's exposed to the warmer conditions.
Quantities:
If you need to temper large quantities of chocolate (over 700gm) it is best to temper a portion of it, and then substitute some of the tempered chocolate that you use, with melted untempered chocolate.
For example if you use 100cc of tempered chocolate you can then add to the temperer exactly 100cc of melted untempered chocolate and let it blend. In a few seconds the mixture should be fully tempered again. If it does not temper properly, you can press the "melt" button, wait for the cursor to show 43 degrees, and then push "temper", adding more "seed" chocolate.
Viscosity and Texture:
Tempered chocolate should be viscous. The more viscous the better it will cling to a dipped piece, the thicker the coat will be. The more runny the chocolate, the thinner the coating.
In order to adjust viscosity, if the chocolate is too thick you can add small amounts of cocoa butter either by using the method of tempering large quantities of chocolate, or by adding the cocoa butter behind the baffle and go through the cycle again, pressing "melt" and then "temper" and adding "seed" chocolate.
If the normal tempering method doesn't work, try using the Temper 2 option, which includes a slower cooling.
If the chocolate is over-tempered and thick, it could be caused by pieces of cool or solid chocolate in the bowl.
If this happens press "reset", then "melt", wait until the cursor returns to 43 degrees and then press "temper", adding 85gm of solid chocolate behind the baffle, continuing the tempering as usual.
Dipping:
- make sure the piece is completely dry. Dust it with cornflour if you want to be sure of the absence of mousture on its surface.
- make sure the chocolate has the right amount of fat, as too much fat would make the coating too thin and too little fat would make it too thick.
- For a complete coverage of the piece, choose a suitable dipping tool
- make sure you have a ready sheet of unwaxed paper or parchment to set the dipped pieces on.
- allow pieces to set for 24 hours.
- if the dipped piece cracks it means it was probably too cold.
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