276809 Wed Mar 02 00:23:58 -0800 2005 5 31 Home Cooking 0 1461341 I'm wondering what temperature chocolate should be in order to be considered tempered? I will be melting the chocolate in a water bath. Thanks for any advice. Wed Mar 02 00:23:58 -0800 2005 0 Steve 1 1461343 I've never fully figured out tempering. sometimes my chocolate comes out shinier than others but it never comes out streaky or crumbly so I think it works well enough: chop, melt two thirds in a double boiler until just melted, then take it off the and stir in the rest. Anything more specific and complicated than that gives me a headache. Wed Mar 02 00:35:04 -0800 2005 1461341 0 chick 2 1461366 That's pretty much it. You need a chunk of tempered chocolate to "seed" the melted chocolate. (There are other methods, but they are needlessly complicated. Chop your chocolate, reserving about 1/4 in a large block. Melt your chocolate gently. I like to bring water to a boil, turn the heat off, then put the chopped chocolate in a metal bowl over the warm water, with a sheet of Saran Wrap over the top. Once it's all melted, remove from the double-boiler. Stir in the large block. Stir some more. Just keep stirring. Feel the bottom of the bowl. If it's still warm to the touch, keep stirring. When the chocolate has cooled, you test it. Otherwise, there really isn't a way to know if the chocolate is tempered yet, so you could conceivable dip a bunch of chocolates in untempered chocolate. The test is easy. Take a metal spoon. Dip the tip of the spoon in the chocolate, just about a centimeter in. Put it to the side. 1-2 minutes later, touch the chocolate. If it's in temper, the chocolate will have already set up. It might be a bit tacky, but it will definitely have firmed. If the chocolate is not in temper, it will remain melted. That's it. If your chocolate isn't in temper, keep stirring. If it's very cool and has started to thicken and still isn't testing for temper, take out your big chunk of chocolate, reheat the rest, and start again. This was the method we used at the CIA, before we were allowed to use the tempering machine. We had to do the marble method once, just to know how, but we didn't use the method regularly. I've never had a problem. Tips: Use way more chocolate than you need. Once it's in temper, the chocolate will want to set up, and if you don't have enough, you'll have to keep rewarming it. Just a little rewarming - to the count of three while stirring over heat - won't usually take it out of temper, but always retest. The block of chocolate you use must itself be in temper. Not usually a problem if you've bought it fresh, but could be if you've kept it around the house and it's gotten overheated. Doesn't matter if the chopped chocolate that you melt is in temper, of course. Wed Mar 02 09:33:38 -0800 2005 1461343 0 curiousbaker 3 1461402 Thanks for your replies. This will come of big help. Wed Mar 02 12:47:59 -0800 2005 1461366 0 Steve 4 1946861 IIRC, the Joy of Cooking (newest edition, the one that involves the son) recommends 108 for dark chocolate and 105 for white chocolate. Both of these degrees are in fahrenheit. I generally heat my waterbath to slightly above these temperatures and then set my pool of tempered chocolate on top of the bath as I remove from heat. Meanwhile, I keep a reserve of hot water (near boiling) on the stove. When the waterbath sinks below the right temperature, I add a bit of the hot water. Sun Oct 15 09:02:06 -0700 2006 1461402 46927 yvonnexlai 5 1946864 no, those temps are wrong. Joy says 90 for dark and 88 for milk and white. I learned 85-88 for white, 86-89 for milk, and 87-90 for dark. I have had a fear of tempering and only after looking at machines and deciding I can't afford the $800 one that I want, I should just get over it. I've been using valrhona guanaja (up to 120 then down to 89 or 90) and getting fine results, but it's not very shiny and could be snappier. I bought some acetate sheets because I thought maybe it was the parchment that made it less than shiny, but my attempt on acetate this morning wasn't shiny either. I know the temperature is suppose to drop quickly, is it worth chopping the feves (valrhona's bean-shaped pieces)? Sun Oct 15 09:18:56 -0700 2006 1946861 13150 babette feasts