Many a home cook has been scared away from a perfectly good recipe when the instruction ‘temper the chocolate’ pops up. But while the chemistry behind tempering chocolate is definitely complicated, the process itself doesn’t have to be.

The basics
Tempered chocolate has a balanced chemical structure. When chocolate melts and resets at the incorrect temperature, it can lose that structure and become dull and soft instead of shiny and snappy. In the worst cases, cocoa fat rises to the chocolate’s surface and creates whites spots called blooming.

To make the chocolate shiny and snappy again, you have to melt it and temper it to restore the chemical balance. Tempering is only necessary when you want to coat things in chocolate and you need it to look glossy and remain sturdy.

For home cooks, the most successful tempering is done with a candy thermometer and a chunk of already tempered chocolate, known as the ‘seed’ chocolate. Thermometers can be a little pricey, but you can use them to make all sorts of sweets so it’s a good investment.

The process
Pour a few centimeters of water in a pot and heat it up over a low heat until it simmers gently. Chop your chocolate, place it in a perfectly clean and dry metal bowl and balance the bowl over the simmering pot. Make sure the bowl isn’t touching the simmering water.

Leave the chocolate there until it’s melted completely. Remove the pot from the heat and give the melted chocolate a good stir to smooth it out. Drop the chunk of tempered chocolate into the melted chocolate and cool the chocolate while stirring frequently. Measure the temperature every few minutes until the thermometer reads 27 °C.

Now return the pot to the stove over low heat and bring the chocolate temperature back up to between 31°C and 33°C.

When the chocolate is in the 31°C to 33°C range, you can fish out the seed chocolate (if it hasn’t all melted), and you’ve got yourself some tempered chocolate. You can now go ahead and dip and pour the chocolate with smooth, shiny, snappy results. (Just make sure the temperature remains in the 31°C to 33°C range.)

By Emma-Kate Coultas