Tempering Chocolate

Tempering chocolate is melting, cooling, and melting again chocolate so that candy can be made with a nice shine and bite. Here is a video by chow.com on Youtube that demonstrates one way to temper chocolate.

If chocolate gets too hot, 200F, it burns. If water gets in it it's ruined.

You'll need:

1 lb or more of chocolate, not chocolate chips

double boiler

instant read thermometer

rubber spatula for stirring

bowl of ice water

First you will need to melt the chocolate. Chop it up and melt 3/4 of it. Place it in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. I you don't have a double boiler place a heat proof bowl over a pot that has simmering water in it. Clip on an instant read thermometer. Stir until it comes to 115 degrees for dark and 110 degrees for milk chocolate. Remove from the heat and add remaining chocolate. Let it cool to 84 degrees. If needed place bowl of chocolate in another bowl of ice water and stir to cool, but don't let any water get into the chocolate! Now it has to be reheated so place back on double boiler. Let it get to 88-89 degrees for dark, 87 for milk and white. Check a small amount by spreading a spoonful thinly on waxed paper. Let it cool and check to make sure it's shiny and smooth. Now it is tempered and ready to be molded or dipped!

If that sounds too complicated and intimidating or if you temper chocolate often, Dove has a tempering unit that does all the work for you. Happy candy making!