It is the tempering process that gives shine and smoothness to chocolates that do not have these qualities on their own. Tempering also prevents blooming and the chocolates acquire crispness.

Crystals or blotches develop on chocolates due to improper tempering. Since the heating process takes away the original temper of chocolates, re-tempering becomes a necessity.

Solids that are dominantly present in cocoa butter, the basic ingredient of chocolates, get suspended along with the butter’s crystals during heating. Only the melting process separates crystals from the solids and the separated crystals rise to the top of the surface.

Cocoa butter’s unique quality is that it re-crystallizes into six different forms. These six forms of crystals dominate rapidly at six unique temperatures and hence you have to keep a close watch to adhere to specific temperatures dictated by the type of chocolate you’re using. The chocolates get their snap and shine from the type V crystals among these six types.

Hence it is inferred that you should increase the amount of type V crystals with tempering. Type IV crystals are the unwanted interlopers because they are formed along with type V crystals. You should eliminate type IV crystals and retain type V crystals when reheating. A digital laser thermometer can be used for maintaining right temperatures.

Heating and cooling temperatures are different for various types of chocolates. Tabliering, seeding by hand, and microwaving are the methods used in tempering. Learning tempering by hand will be useful for chocolate makers.

In tabliering, a chunk of chocolate is cut into small strips and heated to a specific temperature on a double boiler. Once the melting is completed, one half of the chocolate is poured on a marble slab to work on with a rubber spatula to give the chocolate its smoothness and shine. This half is allowed to cool to another specific temperature while you work on the other half. Both these chunks are then mixed together, distributing uniform temperatures to the whole mass; after which it’s ready for the dipping and molding. While you’re working, your molten chocolate shouldn’t harden or lose its shine and smoothness.

In seeding, the melted chocolate is “inoculated” using the already-tempered chocolate as the “seed” so that the type V crystals dominate in the crystallization process. Strict adherence to temperatures is critical in this process also.

Specific parameters like wattage of the oven, the level of cocoa butter in the raw chocolate and the quantity of chocolate added to the bowl for melting must be taken into consideration when tempering with a microwave.

Tempering is difficult because specific temperatures must be maintained and over- and under-mixing avoided. Humid weathers also pose a problem even for experienced chocolate makers. Chocolate tempering machines can do away with these problems as it controls tempering with a computer chip.

Whatever difficulties you experience during chocolate candy making will vanish into thin air when you enjoy the pleasure of those you gifted with your chocolates.