The purpose of tempering chocolate is to pre-crystallise the cocoa butter in the chocolate, which is related to the working temperature of the chocolate. During tempering, the cocoa butter in chocolate acquires a stable crystalline form. It provides rigidity, compressive strength and gloss to finished products after cooling. If the chocolate is melted in the usual way (between 40 and 45°C) and cooled to operating temperature, the finished product will not shine. If you make an effort, using a special method of bringing the chocolate to the required working temperature, you are guaranteed to get the desired result. This is what we call tempering: bringing the chocolate up to the required working temperature, which is facilitated by sufficiently stable crystals.

What's going on technically?

A real tempering process, nothing else. When you temper your chocolate on a marble, or when you add more chocolate, you are aiming to start a chain reaction to arrive at the beta form of the cocoa butter found in the chocolate. This specific crystallization form will bring out the brilliance and hardness you want to give your chocolate. The final tempering is crystallization only for the beta form of the 7 crystal forms found in cocoa butter. With this new tempering technique, you don't create beta shapes, you just... add them. In fact, 1% Mycryo is the correct amount of beta crystals to start a chain reaction. And you will get a perfect crystallization, saving much more time to work with it from the very beginning.

Tempering with Mycryo®

	Step 1 Melt the chocolate to a temperature of 40-45°C (in a microwave oven or in a water bath).
	Step 2 Let the chocolate cool at room temperature to 34°C for dark chocolate or 33°C for milk, white or colored chocolate.
	Step 3 Add 1% cocoa butter Mycryo (Mycryo), or 10 g per 1 kg of chocolate.
	Step 4 Mix well.
	Step 5 When the chocolate has sufficiently pre-crystallized, maintain the temperature at 34°C for dark chocolate and 33°C for milk or white chocolate.
	Step 6 If using chocolate for a longer period of time, store it at 31-32°C for dark chocolate or 39-30°C for milk, white or colored chocolate.

Tempering with Callets

Pre-crystallization is a very easy process if you add chocolate that has already been tempered into the melted chocolate. Callebaut Callets are suitable for this. The Callets have already been tempered. In other words, they are already in the required crystalline form and can be added to melted chocolate. The number of Callets required depends on the temperature of the melted chocolate and the Callets themselves. When the melted chocolate reaches approximately 40°C, you can add 15% to 20% Callets at ambient temperature (between 15 and 20°C).

Tempering in the microwave

The table shows the thermophysical properties of chocolate at various temperatures. The properties of chocolate in the table are given at temperatures from 283 to 343 K (from 10 to 70 ° C).

According to the table, with an increase in temperature, the values ​​of such properties as the density of chocolate and its specific heat capacity decrease, while the thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of chocolate increase.

The influence of temperature on the density of chocolate, as well as on its other thermophysical properties in its small range, is rather weak, with the exception of the heat capacity of chocolate of individual brands.

Given the following properties of chocolate: density, kg/m 3 ; specific (mass) heat capacity, J/(kg deg); thermal conductivity coefficient, W/(m deg); thermal diffusivity, m 2 / s.

boiling point of chocolate

From the definition of the boiling point, it follows that it corresponds to the temperature of saturated vapor above the surface of the boiling liquid.

The boiling point of chocolate, depending on the variety, is 115-140°C.

Chocolate is a mixture consisting of cocoa bean powder, cocoa butter, powdered sugar and other fillers, flavors and solids. The melting temperature of chocolate is 30 ... 38 ° C. Melting chocolate will not produce a "pure liquid" but a mixture of solids dispersed in the melted cocoa butter.

With further heating of liquid chocolate above the melting point, burning of its solid fractions and boiling of cocoa butter is possible. Therefore, when talking about the boiling point of chocolate, it is necessary to mean the boiling point of the cocoa butter contained in it.

The table shows the thermophysical properties of chocolate mass and grated cocoa at various temperatures.
The properties of the chocolate mass in the table are indicated for temperatures from 0 to 35°C. The properties of grated cocoa are given for temperatures from 10 to 70°C.

The table lists the following properties:

• density, kg/m 3 ;

For cocoa mass thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity depending on the temperature can be determined using the formulas:

Density and thermal conductivity chocolate mass, depending on the temperature within 30 ... 70 ° C, can be determined by the formulas:

The specific heat capacity of the chocolate mass for the temperature range of 30...70°C is 0.4 kcal/(kg deg) or 1674 J/(kg deg).

The thermal diffusivity for the same temperature range is determined by the formula:

The thermophysical properties of slab chocolate at room temperature 20°C are indicated.

The following properties are given:

• density, kg/m 3 ;
• thermal conductivity, kcal/(m h deg) and W/(m deg);
• specific (mass) heat capacity, kcal/(kg deg) and J/(kg deg);
• melting heat of bar chocolate, kcal/kg and J/kg.

Specific heat capacity of chocolate at different temperatures

The table shows the specific heat capacity of chocolate at various temperatures. The heat capacity of chocolate is given at positive and negative temperatures(from -10 to 40°C). Data on heat capacity are presented for chocolate brands "Sort", "Extra" (with milk), "Soy" (without peanut grits).

The heat capacity of chocolate.

The table shows the thermophysical properties of cocoa butter depending on temperature. The properties of cocoa butter in the table are given for temperatures from 10 to 70°C.

The table shows the following properties of cocoa butter:

• density, kg/m 3 ;
• thermal conductivity, kcal/(m h deg) and W/(m deg);
• specific (mass) heat capacity, kcal/(kg deg) and J/(kg deg);
• thermal diffusivity, m 2 / h and m 2 / s.

It should be noted that with an increase in the temperature of cocoa butter, the value of its thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity also increases.
Specific heat capacity of cocoa butter, as can be seen from the table, does not depend on temperature.

The table shows the melting point of cocoa butter glycerides. The melting point is indicated depending on the content of glycerides in the oil.

Presented melting temperature the following glycerides: dioleopalmitin, dioleostearin, oleolinoleopalmitin, oleolinoleostearin, free fatty acids, unsaponifiable, dipalmitostearin, oleodistearin, oleodipalmitin, oleopalmitostearin.

According to the table, it can be seen that most of the glycerides are in a liquid state at room temperature. The rest have a melting point of 29 to 68 °C. Thus, already when heated to a temperature of 68 ° C, its glycerides will completely pass into a liquid state.

In simple terms, tempering chocolate is a rearrangement of the crystal lattice of cocoa butter. As a result of this action, the chocolate becomes smooth, shiny and its melting point rises, which allows the chocolate decor not to melt in the hands, as well as on cakes and pastries.

In practice, this means heating the chocolate to a certain temperature, cooling it quickly, and then heating it again to the desired temperature.

In general, self-respecting manufacturers place a tempering scheme for this type of chocolate on the packaging, but it happens that they don’t.

3 ways to temper chocolate at home

Option 1 Universal

Prepare a water bath and a bowl of ice or frozen peas.

Put the chocolate in a dish that can be in a water bath and its bottom does not touch the water, and at the same time is suitable in size to “fit” into a bowl of ice. It is desirable that the bowl is metal, i.e. heated up quickly and cooled down quickly.

• Melt the chocolate, stirring, to the desired temperature (all diagrams at the bottom of the article). Keep the heat under the water bath to a minimum, and when the chocolate begins to melt, turn it off completely.
• Place in a bowl with ice and chill quickly.
• Return to water bath and heat to desired temperature.

Important: not a drop of water or steam should get into the chocolate.

How to understand that everything is correct.

Dip a dry knife or spoon into the chocolate and wait until it hardens (you can put it in the refrigerator for a few seconds to speed it up). The hardened chocolate should be shiny and without any streaks.

If this is not the case, tempering must be restarted.

Option 2 For marble board

If the amount of chocolate is small, a regular table will do.

Put ice in the bag and refrigerate the surface, making sure it is dry.

Melt the chocolate to the first temperature and pour two-thirds onto the table.

Drive it with a spatula on the table: smear and collect until it cools to a second temperature.

Collect and pour into bowl with remaining chocolate.

stir and, as a rule, you will immediately fall into the third temperature, i.e. which is what you need.

Option 3 For microwave

Melt two-thirds of the chocolate in the microwave in pulses of 10 seconds at a power of 800-1000, stirring each time until it reaches the first temperature.

Place one third of the chocolate in the refrigerator.

Add half of the cold chocolate to the melted chocolate and stir until the temperature reaches 3.

If the chocolate has melted and the temperature is high, add the rest.

If the temperature is reached and the chocolate remains unmelted, take it out.

That's all, choose any method you like.

All the decors on mine are tempered chocolate.

Chocolate Temperature 1 Temperature 2 Temperature 3

Black 45-50° 28-29° 31-33°

Dairy 40-45° 27-28° 30-31°

White 40-42° 25-26° 28-29°

Chocolate is a rather capricious material, it is not easy to cook from it: it will either exfoliate, or “turn gray”. How Right melt chocolate Many people know how to use a water bath, however, so that your chocolate products do not become covered with a white coating, do not “turn gray”, you need to learn how to cook tempered chocolate.

Tempered chocolate recipe:

1. Bring the water in a saucepan to a boil and remove from heat. Break the chocolate into small pieces and place in a heatproof bowl.

2. We put a bowl of chocolate on the pan (it should stand firmly on the pan). Start stirring the chocolate all the time. The melting point of white chocolate is 40 - 45 ° C, black about 50 - 55 ° C. Chocolate should not be heated in a boiling bath, otherwise the mass may thicken and “brew”. Make sure that water does not get into the chocolate, otherwise lumps will form in it.

3. Pour the melted chocolate onto smooth surface(metal sheet or table).

4. Accelerating and collecting the chocolate mass with a spatula, cool the chocolate to 29 ° C if the room is warm, or to 31 ° C if it is cold. To check the readiness of chocolate for work, touch it with the knuckle of a bent finger (finger pads are less sensitive to temperature). If tempered chocolate is cooked properly, it will feel slightly cool to the touch.

Professional confectioners believe that it is not enough to be able to correctly melt chocolate. If you want your chocolate creations, figurines, sculptures, candy cases, bows, etc., to be made from tempered chocolate. and so that they do not “gray”, that is, they are not covered with a white coating, you need to use the so-called tempered chocolate.

Chocolate tempering is the process of heating chocolate from 40 to 45 C and cooling it down to a certain temperature depending on the type of chocolate. An important role is played by the time of cooling and mixing: in this process, the cocoa butter crystals acquire a stable and uniform shape.

So: tempering chocolate at home.

Chocolate of the same quality must be used for tempering.

If you mix foods that have different percentages of fat and cocoa, the tempering process is doomed to failure, the chocolate will curdle.

Tempering is necessary in order to:

• Prevent whitish streaks or spots from appearing on the product.
• The product has acquired a clear shape and a shiny, appetizing appearance.
• The finished chocolate product did not melt in the hands.

Of course, it is easier to do this with a tempering machine, but at home the process will not be difficult if there is an oven (microwave) or a regular pan.

There are two ways to temper chocolate at home: in a "water bath" and in a microwave oven.

Chocolate tempering processes

Tempering chocolate with a water bath

1. In order to melt chocolate, you need a "water bath". Bring water in a saucepan to a boil and take it off the fire. Break the chocolate into small pieces and place in a heatproof bowl.
2. Place the bowl of chocolate on top of the saucepan(the bowl should be firmly attached to the pan). Start stirring the chocolate immediately. The melting point of dark chocolate is 50-55 C, white is about 40-45 C. Do not heat chocolate in a boiling bath, otherwise the mass will thicken and you will think that the chocolate has not yet melted, but in fact it has already “brewed”. Be careful not to get water into the chocolate, otherwise lumps will form in it.
3. Then pour melted chocolate on a smooth surface, for example, on a metal table or sheet, and even better on a marble one. Marble heats up more slowly and cools faster, which is an advantage when working with chocolate.
4. Collecting and dispersing the chocolate mass with a spatula, cool chocolate to 31C, if the room is cold, or up to 29 C if the room is warm. Keep in mind that the average working temperature of dark chocolate is 30-31 C. This is slightly lower than body temperature. Therefore, in order to check whether the chocolate is ready to work, touch it with a bent finger. It is the knuckle that is not the pad, since the pads of the fingers are less sensitive to temperature. Properly prepared tempered chocolate should feel slightly cool to the touch.

If at least a small crumb of solid chocolate gets into tempered chocolate, then a “snowball effect” will result - the entire chocolate mass will curl up.

If you want your jewelry to look flawless, wear medical rubber gloves to avoid leaving marks from warm hands.

Tempering chocolate in the microwave

1. We take chocolate bar without fillers, half rub on a grater and half broken into pieces.
2. Place the chocolate into the dishes for the microwave and at maximum power (800-1000 W) melt the chocolate. To prevent overheating, every 10-15 seconds it is necessary to remove the dishes and mix the mass.
3. When the chocolate melts and becomes liquid, add pieces of solid chocolate to lower the temperature of the mass. Intensively rubbing and stirring, bring the chocolate mass to the desired temperature (dark 31-32C, white 27-28, milky - 30-31C). In order not to make a mistake anywhere and measure the temperature as accurately as possible, you need to use a culinary thermometer or pyrometer.
4. I understand perfectly well that not every hostess has candy thermometer, I don’t have it, and to check the quality of melted chocolate, you can use the method indicated above.