What does it mean to temper and why is it necessary? When you buy a candy bar t the store and break it apart, you may notice that it has a slight snap or crunch. That candy bar is chips are tempered. The chocolate coating on the outside of any commercial candy bar is tempered. But what exactly does that signify? Tempering is the process of melting chocolate, cooling it down, and heating it up again slightly. Basically, it is raising and lowering the temperature of melted chocolate so that the fat crystals in the cocoa butter stabilize. That's a simplified scientific explanation. The practical one is that you are simply adjusting the characteristics of the melted chocolate so that it sets up with a nice glossy shine, doesn't melt in your hands upon contact, has a pleasing texture when eaten, and melts nicely on the tongue.
This chapter presents techniques for learning to melt and temper chocolate. There is a lot of information out there about how to do this; other books on chocolate may contain slightly different information. This is simply how i do it and the way that works best for me. If you have experience with tempering and are comfortable with a different method, use the one you prefer.
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