| Create Tempting Chocolate Confectioneries with Tempering |
| 12.11.09 | |
Small-scale chocolate candy making may turn into a difficult task because tempering is generally done by hand. The cooking paraphernalia are easy enough to get hold of: basic chocolate (dark, semi-sweet or milk), a trustworthy thermometer, a double boiler, a rubber spatula and candy molds or cookie sheets.
Melting the chocolate is even easier. You put the chocolate in a double boiler on medium heat and continually stir the chocolate so it doesn’t get scorched. The melted chocolate is mixed with fruits if you want to make fruit-filled chocolates and it is poured on candy molds if you want unique candy shapes.
However, there’s the need to temper and this is a dreaded activity by many because of the fact that you have to maintain accurate temperatures all throughout the process. This necessity arises because the fatty acids of cocoa butter re-crystallize into six types and each crystal type dominates at a given temperature. If you don’t keep an eye on temperatures, one or more of these crystals will spoil the process and you may be forced to repeat the process again and again till you get perfectly-tempered chocolate.
At the same time, tempering process cannot be jettisoned altogether because chocolates can only be shiny and crisp if you temper them. Skipping the process may also lead to blooming that induces the appearance of large crystals of cocoa butter on the surface of your chocolates. You can skip the tempering process if you make the candies for yourself and your loved ones but if you make them for commercial purposes, you won’t be able to sell them at all given their unappealing, blotchy appearance.
Out of the six types of crystals of cocoa butter that prosper during tempering, only type V crystals are responsible for making the chocolates crisp and shiny, that’s why you must take steps to produce only the type V crystals. These type V crystals do form in every type of chocolate be it dark, semi-sweet or milk but the temperatures at which they form are different for each chocolate type.
Not only the type Vs, you also get type IV crystals but the latter don’t render any benefit because they melt much more easily. The type V crystals remain firm up to the body temperature, from which point they begin to soften.
You should keep a very good thermometer with you during tempering. But if you choose to use a tempering machine, this major worry can be forgotten altogether as the tempering machine has a computer chip to take care of this aspect; these machines also help in producing only the type V crystals. Thus the completely automated tempering machine provides you with more of free time and energy that can be utilized for honing your skills and developing your business.
