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Tempering White Chocolate

picklekin
Posts: 889 Forumite
Hi all,
I need to make some white chocolate lollipop things (have a silicon mold already) and need to try and temper the chocolate first so it doesn't go "furry".
I have been doing a lot of reading online and this looks a really complicated process. I usually use good food for my recipes so I started there (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/how-temper-chocolate) but last night I was watching on TV the Sweets Made Simple show. They tempered some chocolate and just heated it to 42 degrees then cooled to 27/28 degrees and just used it.
Would this method work or will I get some dodgy results? Was not sure where to ask but thought Old Style is sure to know!
I need to make some white chocolate lollipop things (have a silicon mold already) and need to try and temper the chocolate first so it doesn't go "furry".
I have been doing a lot of reading online and this looks a really complicated process. I usually use good food for my recipes so I started there (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/how-temper-chocolate) but last night I was watching on TV the Sweets Made Simple show. They tempered some chocolate and just heated it to 42 degrees then cooled to 27/28 degrees and just used it.
Would this method work or will I get some dodgy results? Was not sure where to ask but thought Old Style is sure to know!

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Comments
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Hi Picklekin.
Tempering isn't easy, and I was shocked at the suggestion in the Sweets made Simple program that all you needed to do was heat to 42 degrees then cool.
Although the process is called "tempering" which alludes to "temperature" in fact the critical factor is crystallisation - encouraging the 'good' crystals to form which give chocolate it's snap and shine.
The easiest way is in fact not to ruin the temper in the chocolate that it already has. When you purchase chocolate in bar form or as callets of couverture (much easier to work with!) it is already tempered.
If you heat in a microwave, on low, very carefully so the chocolate just melts but gets no hotter the chocolate will remain in temper.
Grate the chocolate if in bar form, or use the callets, and heat in a plastic bowl (glass and ceramic bowls will get hot themselves so will take the chocolate out of temper).
Depending on the amount used, start with say 20 seconds. Remove bowl and stir. Nothing much will look like it's happened! Repeat... Once it starts to melt, drop down to 10 seconds at a time. When about 2/3rds have melted, stir, stir, stir. If you still have lumps, flash for a couple of seconds at a time. It's really easy to overdo the heat, as the chocolate is absorbing heat as it melts, (due to the reversal of the latent heat of crystallisation) but once melted all the energy goes into increasing the temperature. Hence being very careful.
If you do go too hot, then use the 'seeding' method to get the chocolate into temper. Take more callets or grated chocolate and mix in to the hot chocolate, a bit at a time, stirring well until the working temperature is met. Test for temper by putting some on a bit of silicone paper. It should set within about 3 minutes, and not have any streaks, though this is easier to see with dark chocolate.
Using this method it is quite possible for the chocolate to be the correct temperature but not tempered, it can also be in temper but at a different temperature....
If all this sounds like a nightmare, you could use candy melts which don't require tempering.
Have fun!0 -
I'm with willowcat on this one - I wouldn't bother tempering it. As long as you don't go mad when melting white chocolate then you shouldn't need to temper it.
I've just consulted the oracle that is Mary Berry and she recommends melting white chocolate on 'LOW' or 'DEFROST' in a microwave. I've always melted white chocolate using the bowl suspended over a pan method and it has worked fine.4.30: conduct pigeon orchestra...0 -
I'd be really grateful if someone could advise me about this.
My understanding is that white chocolate isn't actually chocolate at all, just a mixture of fat and sugar. If that's the case, why does it need the same treatment as cocoa based products?Better is good enough.0 -
The fat in white chocolate is cocoa butter - and it is the crystals in the cocoa butter that need to be tempered. The cocoa solids in milk and dark chocolate give colour and chocolate taste (cocoa butter on it's own is rank!) but are not part of the crystalliation process.
It's probable some cheaper white chocolate may have other fats such as vegetable fats, but if it's described as chocolate it must have at least some cocoa butter.0 -
poorly_scammo wrote: »I've just consulted the oracle that is Mary Berry and she recommends melting white chocolate on 'LOW' or 'DEFROST' in a microwave. I've always melted white chocolate using the bowl suspended over a pan method and it has worked fine.
If you're very careful it can be melted in a bowl over a pan, but water (including steam though your pan should never be that hot) is the bitter enemy of chocolate (unless you're making a water ganache but that's an entirely different story....) as even a single drop will cause the chocolate to 'seize' - become stiff and lumpy. It's also very easy to overheat.
If you have one, I'd go with a microwave every time.0 -
Thanks Willow Cat! Pure laziness, stinginess, ignorance and a lot of sheer good luck has meant that I've been following your microwave method for years without realising I was getting it almost completely right! I have had one lot of white chocolate go grainy, hence my question. You're my go-to-person for chocolate questions and expertise!Better is good enough.0
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Hi WillowCat,
Can you recommend a place to buy small-ish quantities of couverture chocolate callets at a reasonable price?
Thanks,
Kevin0 -
Hi Kevie,
Have PM'd you with more detail, but in summary if anyone else is interested.....
There are several manufacturers of couverture, but Callebaut is one I've used and is great quality and price and the chocolate is well behaved. Odd bags can be bought at Amazon, also check out chocolatetradingco.com and keylink.org both of which I've used. Google will no doubt come up with more options.
My apologies if brand details are not allowed.
Have fun0
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