Chocolate Apprentice

The Tempering Encore

Wow. Tempering. It’s been a bit like learning to drive standard. At first, it seems far too complicated, but through trial and many errors, false starts and stalls, shouting and injuries (well, one injury) I think I understand it.

And I think I’ve found “my” method – seeding. See, it just makes sense to me. Perhaps it is because of my desire to control things, but adding small shavings of tempered chocolate to the melted mass of chocolate you are trying to temper is far easier than trying to control a rapidly cooling pool of liquid chocolate, while stirring it on a marble slab. [Read more…]

The Apprentice Tempers

I am sure there have been many jokes made about it, by students through the ages, but my first efforts at tempering chocolate have been maddening enough to throw me into a temper tantrum!

But I guess it’s that way with any lab experiment. And this really felt like chemistry.

I started to prep the kitchen, as soon as the boys left for school. I figured that gave me plenty of time to have a really good go at the tabliering process, which is one of the tempering methods. [Read more…]