Thanks to a computer expert from New York, professional chocolatiers now have chocolate tempering machines that turn chocolate candy making into a painless venture. It used to be that you have to painstakingly keep temperatures level; as well as melt, cool then re-heat chocolates if you wanted fine quality confections. Now, with a computer chip directing and controlling tempering, you can load the chocolates onto these gadgets and forget it until you use it.
More and more consumers however are looking for handcrafted chocolate candies that only the artisanal chocolatiers make and this niche has claimed a sizeable chunk of a billion-dollar chocolate industry. A French innovation, tabliering is the artisan’s choice of manual tempering and it uses a stone slab that absorbs the heat from the chocolate.
In tabliering, one of the important things to keep in mind is to keep everything that touches the chocolate utterly dry. Otherwise, if water comes into contact with the chocolate mush it will lump up and be of no use to shaping chocolates as you’ll need the mush to be pliant.
Cut one pound of chocolate into bits and melt this in a double boiler over low heat. While the chocolate is melting, make sure you’re also stirring it constantly and gently to prevent it from getting scorched. As soon as the chocolate has achieved a temperature of 108-115F, move the melted chocolatecalled mushto a mixing bowl. Be careful to wipe the pan bottom beforehand to ensure that water won’t get into the mush while pouring. Additionally, the mush should be runny and not lumpy when poured.
Quickly work two-thirds mush on top of the marble slab, folding and spreading, to bring it down to a cool of 80-82F. Check the mush that you set aside if it’s still at a level 100F; otherwise, if its temperature goes beneath that level, the mush will quickly turn solid.
As soon as the first mush has cooled to desirable temperatures, blend in the other mush until their temperatures have evened out. Re-heat the mush to the following levels: 88-90F (dark chocolates), 86-88F (semi-sweet), and 82-84F (white). How to check if you’ve tempered chocolates successfully? Coat the end of the spatula with the tempered mush and let it rest for five minutes. If after that time the shell coating the spatula is glossy and firm, then the mush has tempered well.
Always remember to monitor the temperatures of your chocolate mush even while you’re working on your chocolate design. A lapse in your attention and any degree change in thermometer readings can cost you your chocolate’s temper and you’ll have to go through the tempering rigmarole again. A little secret: keep the mush resting on a hot pad or bain-marie to keep tempers longer; but mind that no moisture leaks into your mush or it’ll seize.
