Top Tips For Tempering Chocolate Like A Pro

If you want some affordable homemade gifts to give to friends and family members over the holiday period, chocolates are a great way to go. Not only do they taste delicious, but they look extra decadent, too. 

To help you get your chocolates just right, you'll need to know the key to tempering chocolate. Daily Meal spoke with Nicole Patel, Owner and Chocolatier of Delysia Chocolatier, and she provided some inside tips on how to do so. 

For one thing, she explains that you'll want to pay attention to the temperature. She also explains that you'll need to rely on the "seed chocolate", or a small amount of already tempered chocolate, to help the cocoa butter crystals form and stabilize. Then, once you've tempered, she recommends you "dip a small piece of parchment into your chocolate. Let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes," and adds "The chocolate should be smooth and firm. If it's streaky or runny, try stirring in more chocolate to the mixture to bring the temperature down further." This lets you know if your tempering tricks were a success.

One of the key tips that Nicole Patel provides for making your own chocolates, whether that's homemade chocolate truffles or something else, is to make sure the seed chocolate you use for your temper is the right size. She explains, "The 'seed' chocolate chunks should be large enough to lower the temperature but not so small that it melts immediately."

While some people use a cheese grater to get small, finely shredded chocolate to use as seed chocolate, Patel notes that this can actually create unevenly sized pieces. That can lead to the chocolate not melting at the same rate, which can cause tempering that's inconsistent. As such, she recommends breaking and chopping the chocolate with a knife. About half to one-inch chunks should do the trick, she notes.

Another mistake you might make when working with chocolate is failing to focus on the temperature. Patel explains that "The temperature of the chocolate should be maintained at 89 degrees Fahrenheit." If you let the temperature rise too far above that, your chocolate can wind up becoming lumpy, grainy, and seizing up. Patel notes that if you catch your temperature climbing above 89 degrees Fahrenheit, you'll want to add some more seed chocolate, which will help bring the overall temperature of the confection down.

On the other hand, if your chocolate's temperature starts to fall below the 89-degree threshold, it can start to harden up again and lose its glossy finish. The best trick to remedy this, Patel explains, is to place it back over your double boiler and watch it carefully until it's back up to temperature.

At the end of the day, however, even if you fall into one of these pitfalls, Patel explains that "chocolate can be tempered over and over again." So, don't panic — you can always restart from the beginning to get your confection to the perfect, glossy state for crafting beautiful confections.