Post by sugaralchemy on Aug 7, 2006 1:13:38 GMT -5
I've made a countless number of batches of chocolate, and I'm always seeking a "better" way to temper the chocolate on a small scale, and re-temper shipments that get un-tempered, etc. I need to do anywhere from 4 ounces to 8 pounds with a simple, fast technique.
I like tempering in the Santha, but I find that it tends to be wasteful as tempered chocolate has a slightly higher viscosity and less comes out, the extreme mass of the granite takes forever to cool and warm up, the container is fairly unwieldy, etc. You also tend to get chocolate all over your hands and equipment. And while you are tempering, you can't be cleaning/drying the Santha for another batch. Not to mention the Santha is easier to clean when hot off the machine, as opposed to cooled somewhat due to tempering. After rotating through lots of approaches, I finally found one that seems to work the best on a small scale... I call it "turbo tempering" - apologies if I'm stealing anybody else's name.
The idea is simple, rapid tempering with no added chocolate and a 100% success rate - all with just three easy steps. (Just two if it's coming off the Santha!)
One
Place your chocolate into a glass bowl or measuring cup of ample size - bigger is better, in general. If in solid form, melt it using the microwave, stirring regularly. I find it convenient to use a NON METAL utensil and leave it in the microwave while warming - that way you have no chocolate mess to deal with. Heat it to above 92° F - I suggest 95-100° F. Chocolate melts fairly quickly in the microwave. You can probably eye this temperature once you've done this process a few times.
Two
Once you have a bowl of liquid chocolate that has been heated above 92° F, toss it into the freezer. Turn it into a paste. There's no need to take it much thicker than toothpaste, but basically, the goal is to chill it down as much as is still stirrable - at least into the mid 70° F range - but really, there's no need for a thermometer here. You would be surprised how quickly a glass bowl of chocolate chills in your freezer. Stir it often enough to prevent the edges from becoming completely solid. You may find certain parts of your freezer are colder than others, and of course putting the glass in contact with ice or metal will chill it faster.
Three
With the bowl of pasty chocolate, begin to warm it, stirring often. For a very small amount of chocolate, think 1 second increments. Use your judgement - warm very slightly, stir, repeat. This is where a non-metal utensil is very handy to leave in the bowl. Watch the temperature closely. You will want to warm it up beyond 82° F but less than 92° F. I suggest 88° F for milk and 90° for dark chocolate - but you may want to adapt the exact temperature depending on your preference and specific chocolate formulation.
The end result of this? You can now temper chocolate in 10-15 minutes with roughly zero waste, no seed chocolate, and minimal mess. Just toss the bowl and utensil into the dishwasher and you're done!
There are three warnings:
1) Make sure there is NO METAL in the microwave. I mean it! You will have you chocolate smoking in SECONDS if you put metal in there - and that will destroy the ENTIRE batch. Normally, metal is not a problem in the microwave as long as there is only one piece, but the low water content of chocolate means that it does not readily absorb microwaves, so they tend to bounce around a lot before they are fully absorbed. Metal reflects microwaves, so it easily causes the microwaves to get concentrated in areas and you'll have some spot in your chocolate that burns and smokes in as little as 2 seconds.
2) Make sure you stir the chocolate well when warming in the final step, especially as you get close to the desired temperature. You don't want to accidently read a hot or cold spot with the thermometer, and any parts of the chocolate that exceed 92° F will destroy the temper in that area. As long as you stir it, a few spots getting warmer than 92° F is fine, but if too many get that warm, you've destroyed too many of the crystals created in the earlier step and your temper will fail.
3) Make sure you have a good thermometer. Either something that has been calibrated and has a tolerance range from the store, or something you have calibrated yourself using ice water and boiling water. I would love to have you calibrate your thermometer closer to 80-100° F, but I don't know any easy do-it-at-home approaches to share with you. If in doubt (especially if you're new to this), leave a little margin when tempering - heat it up an extra few degrees, and shoot for right in the middle of the 82-92° F range.
I like tempering in the Santha, but I find that it tends to be wasteful as tempered chocolate has a slightly higher viscosity and less comes out, the extreme mass of the granite takes forever to cool and warm up, the container is fairly unwieldy, etc. You also tend to get chocolate all over your hands and equipment. And while you are tempering, you can't be cleaning/drying the Santha for another batch. Not to mention the Santha is easier to clean when hot off the machine, as opposed to cooled somewhat due to tempering. After rotating through lots of approaches, I finally found one that seems to work the best on a small scale... I call it "turbo tempering" - apologies if I'm stealing anybody else's name.
The idea is simple, rapid tempering with no added chocolate and a 100% success rate - all with just three easy steps. (Just two if it's coming off the Santha!)
One
Place your chocolate into a glass bowl or measuring cup of ample size - bigger is better, in general. If in solid form, melt it using the microwave, stirring regularly. I find it convenient to use a NON METAL utensil and leave it in the microwave while warming - that way you have no chocolate mess to deal with. Heat it to above 92° F - I suggest 95-100° F. Chocolate melts fairly quickly in the microwave. You can probably eye this temperature once you've done this process a few times.
Two
Once you have a bowl of liquid chocolate that has been heated above 92° F, toss it into the freezer. Turn it into a paste. There's no need to take it much thicker than toothpaste, but basically, the goal is to chill it down as much as is still stirrable - at least into the mid 70° F range - but really, there's no need for a thermometer here. You would be surprised how quickly a glass bowl of chocolate chills in your freezer. Stir it often enough to prevent the edges from becoming completely solid. You may find certain parts of your freezer are colder than others, and of course putting the glass in contact with ice or metal will chill it faster.
Three
With the bowl of pasty chocolate, begin to warm it, stirring often. For a very small amount of chocolate, think 1 second increments. Use your judgement - warm very slightly, stir, repeat. This is where a non-metal utensil is very handy to leave in the bowl. Watch the temperature closely. You will want to warm it up beyond 82° F but less than 92° F. I suggest 88° F for milk and 90° for dark chocolate - but you may want to adapt the exact temperature depending on your preference and specific chocolate formulation.
The end result of this? You can now temper chocolate in 10-15 minutes with roughly zero waste, no seed chocolate, and minimal mess. Just toss the bowl and utensil into the dishwasher and you're done!
There are three warnings:
1) Make sure there is NO METAL in the microwave. I mean it! You will have you chocolate smoking in SECONDS if you put metal in there - and that will destroy the ENTIRE batch. Normally, metal is not a problem in the microwave as long as there is only one piece, but the low water content of chocolate means that it does not readily absorb microwaves, so they tend to bounce around a lot before they are fully absorbed. Metal reflects microwaves, so it easily causes the microwaves to get concentrated in areas and you'll have some spot in your chocolate that burns and smokes in as little as 2 seconds.
2) Make sure you stir the chocolate well when warming in the final step, especially as you get close to the desired temperature. You don't want to accidently read a hot or cold spot with the thermometer, and any parts of the chocolate that exceed 92° F will destroy the temper in that area. As long as you stir it, a few spots getting warmer than 92° F is fine, but if too many get that warm, you've destroyed too many of the crystals created in the earlier step and your temper will fail.
3) Make sure you have a good thermometer. Either something that has been calibrated and has a tolerance range from the store, or something you have calibrated yourself using ice water and boiling water. I would love to have you calibrate your thermometer closer to 80-100° F, but I don't know any easy do-it-at-home approaches to share with you. If in doubt (especially if you're new to this), leave a little margin when tempering - heat it up an extra few degrees, and shoot for right in the middle of the 82-92° F range.