Tired of the intricacies of tempering by hand, most chocolatiers have turned to tempering machines that simplify the tempering process. With tempering machines, all stages of tempering are automated. It’s the microprocessor in these machines that maintains specific temperatures accurately and keeps the chocolates tempered even overnight. But tempering by hand requires a great level of patience to maintain the specific temperatures with precision.
The chocolate industry is a billion-dollar market and within is a niche of customers who favor handmade chocolates. Artisan chocolatiers supply these handmade delights and the technique they use for tempering is tabliering. Tabliering is an innovation of France. In tabliering, the chocolate is cooled on a heat-absorbing surface like a marble slab.
This process cannot tolerate moisture and hence all the equipment and ingredients must be moisture-free. Even a slight lapse in this will cause “seizing” by which the chocolates will become rigid and lumpy thereby making dipping and molding impossible. Rapid over-heating and freezing the chocolate may also cause “seizing”.
For tabliering, you procure a pound of chocolate and also items like a serrated knife, a chopping board, a spatula, a mixing bowl, a double boiler, a thermometer which can measure low temperatures like 82F and a cookie sheet. All these accessories are pat dried using a paper towel. The chocolate is cut into thin chunks.
Water is boiled in lower pan of the double boiler at medium heat while you melt the strips of chocolates on the upper pan. Constant stirring of the chocolate till the temperature reaches 108-115 degrees F is necessary. Keep in mind that the melting temperature of each chocolate type is different. The melted chocolate, which is called the mush, is poured into a mixing bowl but again there should not be any let-up against moisture. The melted chocolate must flow easily without getting lumpy.
2/3 of this mush is poured on a marble slab to be worked upon for cooling to a temperature of 80-82 degrees F, scraping and folding with the spatula. Temperature of the 1/3 of the leftover mush must not go below 100 degrees F.
Once the first 2/3 has cooled, both the portions of the mush are mixed together and the entire chunk is cooled down again. If the variety is dark chocolate, it should be reheated to 88-90 degrees, if it is semi-sweet chocolate to 86-88 degrees F, and if it is white chocolate, to 82-84 degrees F. To confirm if the tempering is satisfactorily over, you should dip the knife in the chocolates and let dry for about 5 minutes and see if the chocolate has hardened and acquired a glossy patina. Dipping and molding can then be carried out.
If you don’t maintain temperatures accurately, your chocolate won’t be tempered due to which many problems may arise and you will have to repeat tempering. You can let the tempered chocolate rest on a hot pad while you’re working to extend its tempered state longer.
