Shelf · Dough & batter · Low heat
Tempering chocolate
Melting chocolate, cooling it while stirring, then warming it slightly again before using it.
- The temperature band
- The liquid · 27 to 32 °C
Why it works
Cocoa butter can set into six different crystal forms and only one of them is glossy and snaps. Melting wipes them all out; the cool-down seeds the good form, and the gentle rewarm melts off the bad forms that came along with it, leaving the right seeds to grow.
The tell
A smear on a cold knife sets firm and glossy within a couple of minutes. If it stays tacky or dries dull and streaky, it is out of temper.
No ladder here: the rungs would differ by a shine alone, and a drawn highlight is a picture of the lighting, not of the food.
How it fails
A single drop of water makes melted chocolate seize into a grainy paste that cannot be recovered for coating — keep every utensil bone dry, and never melt it over water that is boiling hard enough to splash. Out-of-temper chocolate is not ruined, though: melt it again and start the cycle over, as many times as you like.
In the app, the card opens on the recipe step that names it, with the tell drawn.
Learning is free on every plan.