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In case you don’t know, chocolate is really not creamy, shiny, smooth and rich in texture originally; chocolate makers do chocolate tempering before presenting it to consumers to acquire these attributes. Although conching can already make the particles of cocoa liquor turn into fine grains, tempering can create even more refined particles until chocolate has turned velvety and creamy.

When tempering is precise, it’ll create the fine characteristics that most chocoholics want like the clean snap when split in half, glossiness, creaminess, richness and even the extended shelf life. If tempering is missed, chocolates are prone to blotch, a condition called blooming where crystals rise to the face of chocolate to ruin its presentation.

Now that most chocolatiers and chocolate enthusiasts are interested in amplified productivity in just a short time, they usually depend on chocolate tempering machines to speed production up. If in case power outages or some similar emergencies happen, you’ll not be able to use the machine so it’s wiser to know how to temper by hand so your production won’t get stuck.

One mode of manual tempering is tabliering, which originated from France. You have to melt the chocolate first and fold it on a cooling surface, usually a marble slab.

To do this, get a pound of chocolate, cut the chocolate into thin strips using a serrated knife, and let it melt in a double boiler. Constantly stir it with a spatula so the chocolate does not scorch; otherwise it’ll seize. Once done, you can now pour half of onto a mixing bowl and the other half on the marble top, folding the latter until it becomes creamy and velvety in texture. Work in the rest of the melted chocolate until everything’s of even temperatures.

The other method of manual tempering is the seeding method where you have to melt three fourths of your chocolate strips in a double boiler. Once it has completely melted, you can pour it into a mixing bowl, blending in the remaining chocolate strips and continually mixing until the entire mush is cooled to its proper tempered temperature.

After cooling down, you re-warm the chocolate again to proper temperatures. Only then can you do the dipping and molding on your chocolates. Just make sure that the chocolate is always on the right tempered temperature while you dip and mold your chocolate candy. This means that you will need to keep your calibrated thermometer close at all times and periodically check temperatures.