What's the big deal? Don't I just melt chocolate like melting butter?
Chocolate, the popular product manufactured by roasting, fermenting, and processing the beans of a cacao tree in combination with sugar (and milk in some cases), is a pretty amazing food. Chocolate (when used in the singular form typically refers to the basic ingredient, while the plural chocolates is often used to refer to candies made with chocolate as a primary ingredient) has a complex flavor that can change and develop as it melts. Since its melting point is just below human body temperature, this means that while eating chocolate, both the texture (as it changes from solid to creamy liquid) and its flavor gradually changes in the mouth. This low melting point does makes it very easy to melt. Unfortunately, chocolate can burn if heated over 200°F (95°C) which is very likely when heated directly over an open flame. This need not be a concern if the proper precautions are taken.
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Melting Chocolate
There are several easy ways to melt chocolate. I'll discuss two of the most useful ones.
The microwave oven method is the easiest but works best when using a small amount of chocolate (less than 1 pound). The chocolate should be in relatively small pieces (chocolate chips also work well), so if you're using chocolate bars or blocks, you'll want to cut the chocolate into smaller pieces first. Microwave in short bursts, about 30 seconds at a time, and stir between each microwave session to provide even heating. At some point, the chocolate will be warm and the pieces will hold their shape as you pull it out of the microwave oven, but they will be slightly shiny and mush as you stir it. Keep stirring and allow the residual heat to melt the rest of the chocolate. If done properly and gently enough on high quality tempered chocolate, this method can result in melted chocolate that is still tempered. Heat it too much and you'll lose the temper, so it's important to stop as soon as the chocolate is about to melt.
The double boiler method uses a little more equipment, but gives you the most control while melting chocolate. You can melt larger quantities of chocolate with this method and use larger pieces (up to 2 ounce blocks). Select a heat proof bowl to place your chocolate in. Put about 1/2-in. water into a pot and place the bowl on top of the pot. Make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water. Now you have a double boiler.
Put the bowl aside and bring the water to a boil. If you're melting a small amount of chocolate, you can simply take the pot of water off the heat. If melting a larger quantity of chocolate, keep the pot on the heat and turn it down to a bare simmer. Place the bowl of chocolate on top of the pot of hot water and stir the chocolate using a silicone spatula until it has melted. Be careful not to allow any steam or condensation to enter the melting chocolate or it can seize. This is usually not a problem if you are watchful and have a lip on the bowl. You can remove the bowl from the pan whenever you need to slow down the heating process and place it back on to introduce more heat. This will prove vital while tempering.
Tempering Chocolate
When melted chocolate returns to solid form the cocoa butter in the chocolate forms a crystal structure. The strange (or cool depending on who you're talking to) thing about cocoa butter is that the crystal structure they take on depends on the temperature at which they are formed. If the chocolate is allowed to cool on its own, the crystals of fat will be loose, resulting in a chocolate that is dull in appearance, soft & malleable, and greasy to the touch. This loose crystalline structure has a slightly lower melting point than tempered chocolate crystals. If, instead, while cooling, the chocolate is kept at 88°F (31°C), the loose crystal structure will not form (88°F is above the formation point of the loose crystals). At this temperature the cocoa butter actually forms a dense crystalline structure. Holding the chocolate at this temperature and stirring will allow a whole bunch of these stable crystal structures to form providing a lot of seed crystals to form in the chocolate. When the chocolate is finally allowed to fully cool, if there are enough stable seed crystals, then the chocolate will harden into a very stable hard chocolate with a slight sheen, snap when broken, and will keep for months at cool room temperature. Tempered chocolate provides enough stability to be worked into a variety of shapes - sheets, painted onto leaves and peeled off, flowers, cups, and molds. It also helps prevent the cocoa butter from rising to the surface of the chocolate and blooming into unsightly light brown markings or coatings.
To temper, most chocolate books will tell you to fully melt the chocolate and then to pour 3/4 of the chocolate onto a marble slab and repeatedly fold the chocolate onto itself and smear it across the marble until the chocolate is a uniform 82°F (28°C). The chocolate is then returned to the remaining hot chocolate and stirred in. The final mixture is either reheated or the residual heat is enough to bring the temperature back up to 88-90°F (31-32°C). This technique is can be a bit tricky and requires a marble slab (or other large, flat, cool surface like a sheet of aluminum or upside down sheet pan), a plastic scraper for smearing the chocolate (a spatula will also work), and a chocolate thermometer (an instant read that can measure accurately to the degree like the Thermapen will also work fine). The chocolate needs to be worked sufficiently on the marble slab for enough seed crystals to form, so you have to work relatively quickly as the chocolate cools. A good way to tell when you've reached the right temperature and stage is to pay attention to the viscosity of the chocolate. When the chocolate begins to thicken a little, you've reached the point where seed crystals are forming and you should be able to reincorporate it into the rest of the chocolate. The tempered chocolate must then be kept at tempering temperature, 88-90°F (31-32°C) until used.
I find that the seed method (as described in The Professional Chef) is a little easier. Since almost all the chocolate that is sold is already tempered, we can use a piece of this already tempered chocolate as a plentiful source of seed crystals.
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler while stirring to ensure unform temperature.
Once the chocolate has fully melted and reached a temperature of over 105°F (41°C), remove it from the heat. At this temperature, all the crystals, loose or stable, should be melted. Add a piece of unmelted chocolate to provide the seed crystals. This piece can be as big as 2 ounces (if you're melting a sizeable amount of chocolate) or can be chopped up into a few smaller pieces.
Stir until the chocolate's temperature enters the tempering range, 88-90°F (31-32°C). The chocolate should be kept at this temperature until used.Specific Tempering Temperatures
Depending on the cocoa butter content of the chocolate and introduction of other ingredients, the tempering temperature of chocolate varies. Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking provides these values for the three broad categories of chocolate:
| Type of Chocolate | Tempering Temperature |
|---|---|
| Dark (no milk content) | 88-90°F (31-32°C) | Milk | 86-88°F (30-31°C) |
| White | 80-82°F (27-28°C) |
Note that although white chocolate does not contain any cacao solids, it is still subject to the same tempering procedures since it is made of cocoa butter.
Storage
Tempered chocolate can be stored for several months without blooming at constant cool room temperature, 60-65°F (15-18°C).
It makes sense - chocolate melts at body temperature (hence the candy shell, in your mouth, not your hand), so 212 F is excessive. Dark and semi-sweet chocolates can handle the higher heat.
If your chocolates develop 'feet' when they are put onto a drying surface, it means the chocolate is sluffing off the center and pooling around it, then the chocolate is still too warm. Particularly when dipping truffles or very soft centers you need to make sure your chocolate is cool enough or it will start melting the center instead of coating it.
Good dipping.
~J
I know this is off topic, but I am making a chocolate cream pie this weekend, and i am trying to figure out how to make the whipped cream topping that is put on top
When I have had it at resturants, and there is a whipped cream-like topping on it, but it is slightly richer and thicker than regular real whipped cream.
Does anyone know what this is or how to make it??
Thanks!!
I'm going to try the oven method of tempering chocolate for my biscotti. I have usually used the microwave, which does work, but you gotta keep a sharp eye on it and check / remove just at the right time. I think with the oven it'll be easier and more fogiving.
p.s. about the parafin comment... My aunt used to make chocolate covered peanut butter balls at Christmas... I used to love them until I learned she used parafin wax to keep the chocolate shiny. That ruined it for me... (boo hoo...) I just can't get past the thought of ingesting parafin anymore. Eating petroleum products seems to me a not-so-great idea. ; )
1. What kind of chocolate can I use? Any kind at all? Hershey's candy bars?
2. What can I do to a bar of bittersweet chocolate to make it sweeter and less bitter, if anything? Is it possible to turn it into milk chocolate myself?
3. I can buy what is called "dipping chocolate" which comes in little round discs, melt it over hot water and immediately use it and it works perfectly. Is this some special kind of chocolate? Is it even chocolate? (Ingredients say it has partially hydrogenated oil and cocoa in it, but no chocolate) Is this stuff already tempered?
3a. If this "dipping chocolate" is already tempered and the Hershey's chocolate bar I might also use is already tempered, what is the difference between the two? I'm under the impression that if I use a Hershey's chocolate bar I would have to temper it before I could use it for candymaking.
4. And, finally, the "dipping chocolate" will not set unless it is put in the refrigerator for 15 minutes or so. Is this true of chocolate that one has tempered themselves?
5. Where does one buy untempered chocolate and what names/brand names would it have?
I'm sure I've left out other questions and would welcome any and all responses, including directions to another internet site or a book on this subject. I'm just not real clear on any of this.
Thank you very much. Alex
1 and 5 are really the same question. you can use any type of chocolate that you like, but there is a big difference in the smoothness and taste of different types of chocolate (generaly the more expensive the higher the quality) All chocolate is tempered when you buy it. that is why it is shiny and snaps when you break it. By melting chocolate you take it out of temper so to restore the shine and the snap you must re-temper. When you buy bulk chocolate it is also called couveture chocolate.
2. bittersweet and semisweet chocolates are both dark chocolate and have less sugar and milk solids in them then milk chocolate does. look for the amount of cocoa that is in the dark chocolate. the higher the number the more bitter the flavor usually the higher the quality as well.
(creating milk chocolate is a long procces requiring conching machines which I don't think are made for home use.)
3 and 4 can also be answered together. dipping chocolate is also known as conffectioners coating and goes through a process where the cocoa butter is removed from the chocolate and an oil ussualy palm kernel oil replaces the cocoa butter, brcuase of the oil the dipping chocolate does not need to be tempered. It is the cocoa butter in chocolate that give it its richness and smoothness so if your making candies that are not ment to immpress anyone just ment to taste good then use the dipping chocolate
but if you trying to do something a little higher end then stick with real chocolate.
if you have never tempered chocolate before it can be very challenging just remember you can always remelt your mistakes. good luck I hope that this answered a few of your questions. Eric
Today is my first time melting chocolate on my own, and I had planned to dip pretzles like my mom used to make. I didn't think that the temperature mattered too much as long as it melted and then got to cool once on the pretzles. I was wrong! After three hours, the chocolate on my pretzles is the texture of fudge: handlable, but not what I want to put on a gift plate.
We discovered (too late) that my chocolate was nearly 200 degrees (F). I found your site and tried to follow instructions, but I'm apparently not good at that either. After cooling to 105 I added a handful of fresh chocolate chips, then again at 88.8 hoping to get some of those elusive crystals. Both times I put a test blot on some wax paper to see if it would harden... no luck.
I now have three bags of chips, and about a cup and a half of high quality bulk chocolate making a gooey mess all over my kitchen. Can it be saved? If so, PLEASE give me stupid-proof instructions!!
Thanks!
Tempering chocolate is a tricky business that requires practice. Since you've got a deadline, you may or may not get it perfect this time around - but you can do well enough to be pleased enough to give someone a gift of dipped pretzels. Since tempering seems to be providing some issues, just take the chocolate chips you've got and heat them until they begin to glisten but haven't actually melted (lost shape) yet. Take them off the heat and try to stir them. If they stay intact, bring in a little more heat (water bath or microwave) and try again. We want to heat it until it just melts and the residual heat melts the rest of the chocolate chips. Once you've got your melted chocolate, they should still be tempered since we didn't bring the temperature high enough to take them out of temper. Dip your goodies and let them set.
If the chocolate has already been melted (but not burned / overcooked), you can recover the chocolate by melting and following the tempering instructions. There's no easy way to do this except for the seed method and, as you've probably learned, that's not always a success. Sometimes not enough crystals have formed, but you can still get a decent snap on the chocolate after it finally solidifies. This is usually good enough to dip foods that will be consumed soon. Just smear some onto a sheet of parchment paper and chill until it's set. Remove from the parchment paper and break it. If it snaps cleanly, it's good enough - if it flexs and breaks off slowly, it's not so good and you'll need to try again.
Considering what other things we eat (and drink), and Breath (lol) an oz or two of wax in your lb of chocolate isn't really a big deal...
Thanks so much!
Depending on the type of mold. Tempered chocolate shrinks as it cools (this is what enables you to unmold them easily, they shrink away from the mold). However, in some cases, chilling will cool the chocolate so quickly that the chocolate can crack because of uneven cooling and shrinkage.
What's a good way of keeping the melted tempered chocolate at 31C-32C ready for use?
A heating pad - the kind you use for a stiff back - works well.
Since parafin wax has been used for years in food products, including canning and as a fat replacement, my guess is that it has not been found to be bad for you. I find parafin wax in a lot of things.
Here is something for you to look for, in Hawaian Punch there is an ingredient called Glyceraol Ester of Wood Rosin. It's a texture modifier so that the puch feels more syrupy in your mouth.
http://www.anoccasionalchocolate.com
my zojirushi bread machine keeps an even temperaure of 88 F during the preheat, kneading and rising process. (most other bread machines have the temperature in the mid to high 90s). i think it would be perfect for keeping the chocolate warm while it is being used to coat the truffle centers.
How would I flavour the plain chocolate without it seizing?
Marble set at room temperature (like a slab build into a pastry counter) is the same temperature as the room. The marble however has a higher thermal conductivity than wood or glass, so it feels colder. The marble blocks are also thick and large which gives the sheet a large amount of thermal capacitance - meaning more heat would be necessary to raise the temperature of the block. Because of this, it acts as a good heat sink. If you had a thick slab of aluminum, it would feel cooler than the marble - but you'd need a pretty thick slab to prevent the aluminum from heating up rapidly as it absorbs heat from the chocolate.
Bees wax will not give the same result as paraffin melts at about 133F and bees wax melts at about 147F. This is a very big difference when you mix it, even in very small amounts with chocolate.
Paraffin is an alkane, or mixture of linear alkanes with carbon chains over usually 20 carbons long. Paraffin is passed through the body completely unchanged/unmetabolized. Beeswax on the other hand is a mixture of compounds and there are occsasionally allergic skin reactionsto it.
My indulgence: Chocolate Truffles
I tempered my chocolate correctly. I dipped butter cookies and they came out fine. I bagged them when they were dry. 4 days later....the chocolate started bubbling, looked like mold and started falling off the cookie. Does anyone know why this happened? I used Callebaut chocolate.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you!
Crystal Melting Temp. Notes
I 17 °C (63 °F) Soft, crumbly, melts too easily.
II 21 °C (70 °F) Soft, crumbly, melts too easily.
III 26 °C (78 °F) Firm, poor snap, melts too easily.
IV 28 °C (82 °F) Firm, good snap, melts too easily.
V 34 °C (94 °F) Glossy, firm, best snap, melts near body temperature (37 °C).
VI 36 °C (97 °F) Hard, takes weeks to form.
Making good chocolate is about forming the most of the type V crystals. This provides the best appearance and mouth feel and creates the most stable crystals so the texture and appearance will not degrade over time. To accomplish this, the temperature is carefully manipulated during the crystallization.
Generally, the chocolate is first heated to 45 °C (113 °F) to melt all six forms of crystals. Then the chocolate is cooled to about 27 °C (80 °F), which will allow crystal types IV and V to form (VI takes too long to form). At this temperature, the chocolate is agitated to create many small crystal "seeds" which will serve as nuclei to create small crystals in the chocolate. The chocolate is then heated to about 31 °C (88 °F) to eliminate any type IV crystals, leaving just the type V. After this point, any excessive heating of the chocolate will destroy the temper and this process will have to be repeated. However, there are other methods of chocolate tempering used-- the most common variant is introducing already tempered, solid "seed" chocolate.
may be i have got that ans .
u have used DARK chocolate .
ok when u melt it and after that u rest it so bcoz of air contact it got set over u r cookies ..
now when u baged it u r bag should be airy enough so it doesnt get melt off.
but u may have used plastic bag so it wont be able to come in contact with air and dry out. but bcoz of warm air created inside the bag made a reason to get the chocolate melt off from the ur butter cookies
this is a little past overdue, but paraffin and vaseline are similar petroleum products. the inventor of vaseline lived to be 96 and he claimed he ate a tablespoon of it every day.
a good excuse to eat (lazily tempered) chocolate more often. . . if you need an excuse to eat chocolate, that is.
Thanks!
Thank You!
I have a question though: I was making the chocolate truffles and melted the chocolate with the already boiled heavy cream directly over a flame. I think it burned, but the main problem was that at the end, when I cooled the chocolate, there was some fat/oil mess that looked like it had oiled out or something when I cooled the concoction. What is it and why did it happen?
Thank you SO MUCH!
If the chocolate burned and then resulted in some oily goo, then that oil is probably from the cocoa butter that is part of the chocolate. When chocolate burns, it seizes and oils that were suspended in the solid chocolate can separate. Using the technique where you pour the hot heavy cream into the chocolate and using that heat to melt the chocolate can prevent that.
My fix: After melting the chocolate using the microwave method I stirred and stirred until all the lumps were gone and it began to cool, then I placed the bowl on a cookie sheet that I had cooled in the fridge and stirred until it began to thicken up a bit at a lower temp. It worked, and hardened up really nicely when I used it. Incidentally, you don't have to work as quick with the white chocolate because it doesn't set up as fast as the dark chocolate does.
HELP---does anyone know what causes the chocolate to "spot" after drying? I made chocolate covered pretzels and within 2 days they were covered in spots! I felt they were ruined and didn't want to give them to anyone.
Thank you
BB
Thanks in advance.
Jason
is essentially just that - chocolate melted in hot cream.
it is made - intentionally - thicker / thinner depending on intended usage - but the generally accept "method" to control final consistency is the ratio of (heavy) cream to chocolate.
how carefully are you measuring, and are you using the same brand of product(s) each time?
since you are weighing the chocolate, that leaves me guessing blindly as well.
how big a batch are you making? the reason I ask is: if you are making a cup, small differences in measuring / fat content may be more apparent than when scaled up.
hopefully someone with more experience with "chocolate that goes bump in the night" will help out here.
Thanks,
Donna
Are you trying to cut with a cookie cutter or a pair of scissors? Once hardened, the chocolate will shatter if you try to cut into it in any fancy way (you can probably do straight lines...). What I would attempt is to brush it onto a sheet of parchment paper and wait for it to begin to harden. Before it's completely stiff, cut it into the shape you want (with either a cookie cutter or knife or maybe even shears) and then wait for it to completely harden. Then peel the parchment paper away.