by Chef Joe LaVilla
In the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day, you probably watched your favorite TV Chefs prepare chocolate-dipped fruit more times than you’d like to admit. Maybe you even invested in the ingredients to try it yourself. It’s easy, right?
Easy Steps?
1.) Melt chocolate.
2.) Dip fruit.
3.) Place on wax paper and refrigerate.
4.) Consume finished product in an immaculate kitchen.
I hate to break it to you, but you are one of the billions who have fallen victim to television deception.
Entertaining as they might be, these chefs gloss-over the detailed process of producing chocolate that snaps at room temperature, but melts on the tongue. In short, they avoid telling you about chocolate’s temper. I am not suggesting that there is some evil side to chocolate (unless you’re dieting), but it is a relatively “moody” substance that must be melted carefully to avoid a lumpy, runny, or dull result.
So why, you ask, is chocolate so fussy? The answer lies in its chemical structure. Grab your pocket-protectors folks: today, we’re going to learn the science behind a proper tempering technique.
A good, basic dark chocolate bar should contain only 3 ingredients. These are cocoa powder, cocoa butter, and sugar. The bitterness of the chocolate is dependent on the percentage of cocoa present in the bar. Many higher-end chocolate manufacturers will include percentages on their bars indicating the percentage of cocoa bean the bar contains. For example, a 74% bar contains 74% cocoa bean and 26% sugar; likewise, the higher the percentage of cocoa bean, the more bitter the bar will be.
While sugar and cocoa-content impact the flavor of the bar, the cocoa butter controls its appearance. Cocoa butter is the fat in the cocoa bean which forms crystalline structures, giving a chocolate bar its firm texture and smooth, shiny surface. These crystalline structures make for a chocolate that “melts in your mouth—not in your hand.”
Tempering is the word we use in the culinary world for the process of melting and cooling chocolate in a controlled manner. Taking melted chocolate and putting it in the refrigerator will set the cocoa butter into soft-form crystals which will be hard when removed from the fridge, but as they come to room temperature, will be soft, dull and pasty-feeling on the palate. If you’ve ever put a candy bar in the fridge after you left it in the car on a hot day, you’ve experienced this. Nobody likes a heat-stricken Snickers.
If you invest in one tool for your personal chocolatiering, make it a good candy thermometer. You’ll need it to keep track of temperatures as you temper your chocolate.
The first step in the process is to chop the chocolate into small pieces reserving ~1/3 of the chocolate for later use.
Next, you can begin the melting process. This can be done using a double boiler or in a microwave. If you’re using a double boiler, it is important to keep the water at a very low boil to prevent any droplets of water from getting into the melting chocolate. Water will cause the chocolate to “seize”, becoming a clump of grainy, stiff putty that will not melt. Take care in using the microwave as well. Only microwave the chocolate for about 10 seconds at a time as it is easy to burn and there is no way to revive it. The optimal melting temperature for chocolate is between 110 and 115 degrees Fahrenheit so keep that thermometer handy!
Once you have melted the chocolate, stir it until there are no lumps, then set it aside so that it can continue melting the remaining sugar and fat crystals.
After letting it rest for ~ 10 minutes, it’s time to add the reserved chocolate shavings little by little to the melted chocolate, stirring until they melt. The shavings are providing building blocks or “seed crystals” for the melted cocoa butter to align with. This “seeding” helps the cocoa butter form the proper crystal structure while gently reducing the temperature of the mix. Continue adding the shavings until the temperature of the mixture is 86 degrees.
At this point, you must reheat the entire mixture to 89 degrees. Do NOT exceed 90 degrees or you will ruin the batch.
Testing whether you have properly tempered the chocolate is easy. Simply drizzle some on a piece of parchment paper or dip a paring knife into the mixture. After ~5 minutes at room temperature, the chocolate should be firm, shiny, and ready to enjoy.
Bon Appétit!
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About Joe LaVilla
Chef LaVilla is the Academic Director for the Culinary Arts programs at the International Culinary School at the Art Institute of Phoenix. Besides being a Certified Executive Chef, Chef LaVilla also holds a certification from the International Sommelier Guild (ISG) as a Certified Sommelier. In addition, Chef LaVilla is experienced in food styling, food and wine pairing, the hospitality industry, culinary arts management, and more.
Before joining The Art Institute of Phoenix, LaVilla had been Executive Chef for Tucchetti restaurant in Phoenix. He has worked for Mark Tarbell as well as Wolfgang Puck. His credits include, “Faculty of the Year” award at The Art Institute of Phoenix; finalist in the Arizona Pork Council Taste of Elegance Competition; and author of the textbook “The Handbook of Wine, Beer and Spirits: A Guide to Styles and Service”.
Chef LaVilla received his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Rochester and his Bachelor of Arts degree, Cum Laude, in Chemistry from Cornell University. He also received an associate’s degree in Culinary Arts from the Culinary Institute of America, where he graduated with honors.
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