There are few things in this world more delicious than chocolate, and one of the very few things that is more delicious than chocolate is good food with chocolate. Tempering chocolate for coating food is incredibly easy, but you don't have to tell anyone that when you show up with chocolate-coated blackberries and homemade peanut butter cups to your next party.
How to Temper Chocolate
Tempering chocolate is the process by which you melt down chocolate until it reaches a state that it will re-solidify into a hard shell form once cooled. The actual required tools are:
- A small pot
- A metal bowl
- Water
- Chocolate
- A thermometer
- An oven mitten
To begin, put an inch of water into a pot and get it to a violent boil. You need a lot of steam to be produced for the process. It is important to note that you never want the bowl to touch the water in the pot. Only the steam should touch the bowl. Boiling the chocolate will get it too hot, and you'll end up with chocolate that won't harden.
How Warm to Keep Your Chocolate
- The temperature you need to keep the chocolate at varies depending on the chocolate, but 100-110 degrees Fahrenheit, or 37-43 degrees Celsius. This will ensure the chocolate gets soft enough to use in your recipe, but not so hot that it loses its ability to form a solid chocolate. The key is keeping the temperature within this temperature range.
- You can monitor this by checking your thermometer constantly. If you just leave the bowl on the pot the chocolate will get too hot, so take it off until it needs to be brought back up a few degrees, put it over the steam directly until it goes back up in temperature, then take it back off again.
- The other important factor to controlling your chocolate's temperature is to stir it continuously. This does two things: first, it makes sure all the chocolate is evenly melted. Secondly, it helps to keep the chocolate cool, and lowers the overall temperature of the chocolate. You should continuously stir the chocolate until it is melted, and even after it is melted, the occasional quick stir isn't a bad idea.
- Once the chocolate is melted, the fun really begins! What you do with the chocolate is really up to your imagination, limited only by the amount of chocolate and if it has cooled too much and has solidified. If it has solidified, simply repeat the process of tempering and you'll be ready to go again.
Chocolate Liqueur Strawberries
Here's a particular recipe that incorporates chocolate in a surprising way:
Ingredients:
- Strawberries
- Chocolate liqueur
- Tempered Chocolate
Cap the strawberry and cut out as much of the inner white portion of the strawberry as possible, but be sure not to cut through the strawberry's bottom portion. Next, put a small amount of chocolate liqueur into the strawberry like a small cup, finally, layer a small amount of chocolate on the top, making sure it is all the way around the strawberry.
Finally, put the cap back on and let cool until it sets. Once it sets, the strawberry will be held together by the chocolate, and you will have a surprising and satisfying confectionery treat to share with friends and loved ones. Have fun tempering!
Learn more about desserts from Hershey.com
For a more in-depth discussion of tempering chocolate, check out cookingforengineers.com's discussion.
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