A Clever Spell

A newbie may make the mistake of thinking that making chocolate candies is an uncomplicated undertaking. Hunting down the utensils, you’ll find them easily in the kitchen too: a kitchen thermometer, a double boiler, a rubber spatula, candy shapes, and dark, semi-sweet or milk chocolates. Right there you also have the makings for truffles; just add heavy cream.

The procedure in making your chocolate candy is uncomplicated, too: melt chocolates bits in the double boiler, whisking the mixture with the spatula so it doesn’t scorch. Afterwards, transfer the molten chocolate onto the candy shapes and let sit in the chiller or leave at room temperature to set. For chocolate-shelled fruit delights, dip your fruits in the molten mixture. You can serve immediately or store in a cool dry place.

Where your kitchen thermometer comes in, there the difficulties begin.

You’ll need to decide if the chocolate candies that you make are for friendly consumption or for commerce. Friends and family won’t mind dull, crumbly chocolate candies but your patrons would certainly do if that’s what you’ll sell them. The thermometer is for minding your chocolate’s temperatures from the time you start melting to the time you do the molding, because this part of the process is what ensures a tempered chocolate. In case you didn’t know, the chocolates being sold in retail are the tempered variety.

Big chocolate producers temper the chocolates they sell because they understand that chocolates are not naturally lustrous or snappy. It’s tempering that gives chocolates its seductive appeal. But chocolate tempers get lost the instant chocolate is heated, making it susceptible to ugly white streaks that appear on your chocolate candy’s outer shell.

The fatty acids in cocoa butter have six different crystallization temperatures, and at a distinct temperature, a crystal structure dominates the process. Type V, the crystal structure you’re aiming for, also has several tempering temperatures for dark, semi-sweet and milk chocolates. The Type Vs are the ones that give chocolates the fine quality it’s famous for: luster, firmness and body. However, the Type IV crystals which proliferate alongside the Type Vs during crystallization also have the same solid body and hard snap; the difference is that it melts much more easily than the Type Vs.

If you opt to temper your chocolates manually, you’ll come to depend on your thermometer a lot as any minor change in your chocolate temperatures can cause it to lose temper. This is highly likely as working on your chocolate candy can get distracting. After some time, you’ll find that you’ll need to temper again and again if you want to keep your chocolates attractive.

Professional chocolatiers have found a way to streamline their confectionery-making work: chocolate tempering machines. These compact appliances come with a computer chip that regulates temperatures to keep chocolate tempered at all times, even overnight. Thus, they’re unburdened with the exacting demands of tempering and have more time with creating quality chocolate treats.