Tips from professional Chef Tallyrand:

Working with Chocolate

Storing

1. Chocolate does not like moisture or too low a temperatures, it should be stored in a cool dark place and NEVER in a refrigerator
2. Cooking chocolate stored in the refrigerator is likely to seize (see below) when melted
3. Eating chocolate stored in the refrigerator is likely to form 'sugar bloom'. This is the white powdery residue one sometimes sees on the surface - this basically means the chocolate has sweated. Moisture has been 'squeezed' out of the chocolate due to the low temperature and then as it comes back up to room temperature it solidifies. It will do you no harm, but does affect the flavour

Eating

1. Chocolate is always best eaten at, at least room temperature; this is because the taste molecules require this temperature to develop
2. If a bar of chocolate or chocolate product is refrigerated and eaten the chocolate flavour will be severely diminished and only when allowed to linger in the mouth will the full flavour be experienced.
3. Try this . . .
• Place some chocolate in the refrigerator overnight and leave some out
• Eat a piece of the chilled chocolate first, bite it, chew and swallow
• Now try another piece, but gently suck on it and allow it to slowly melt in the mouth
• Now try the un-refrigerator piece
• You should or will notice a remarkable difference in flavours

Utensils

1. Ensure all utensils being used are free from any grease and moisture. It is always best to thoroughly rinse them off under hot running water and then wipe them with a paper kitchen towel or a fresh tea towel.
   
   Chocolate has a very strange peculiarity to it; unlike most things that dilute when you add a liquid, a drop of water in melted / melting chocolate will cause it to 'cease', meaning it will revert back to a solid. When this happens it is totally useless for cooking (perfectly okay to give to the kids to eat while they are watching the Teletubbies though!)
2. Use only metal bowls, spoons etc when melting, etc. Plastic and wood can retain fat and moisture (see above)
   

Melting

Chocolate can be successfully melted in a microwave if GREAT care is taken. As there are so many variables with this method I do not recommend trying it.

Besides working with chocolate should be a labour of love, it should be achieved slowly, it should be done so one can see what is happening, smell the beautiful aromas as it melts and be able to taste it, allowing it to slowly linger on the palate!

1. Place just a couple of centimetres of water into a saucepan; the chocolate will melt via the heat from the steam that is caused
2. Do not allow the water to boil, if boiling water is allowed to come into contact with the base of the bowl, the delicate chocolate will burn and seize (see above)
3. Having insured that the bowl, etc is clean (as above) place the bowl over the saucepan. This should have a tight a fit as possible so as not to allow steam to escape that could condense back into the chocolate and seize it
4. Place the chocolate into the bowl (with clean, dry hands) and allow to melt as slowly as possible, stirring often to ensure the un-melted chocolate combines with the melted to form a smooth and even melt
5. Once fully melted, remove the pan from the heat and use as required. If you are not ready to use it straight away, the heat from the water will keep it nicely melted for at least 20 minutes. If it solidifies slightly in this time, place the pan back over a low heat, DO NOT be tempted to try and heat it back up quickly
   

Tempering

Because cocoa butter exhibits what is called polymorphous or unstable crystal formation the mass must be 'tempered' to produce the desired properties: smoothness, gloss and melts only when it is eaten and not handled.

Chocolate is normally in temper when it leaves the manufacturer, but may go out of temper if improperly stored - manifested by the appearance of chocolate bloom and will require re-tempering

Chocolate as far as I am aware, contains five types of crystals, which all melt at different temperatures. Tempering basically heats the chocolate above the first which melts at approximately 18°C, cools it to 27°C and then re-heats it to the next crystal level, with a melting temperature of approximately 37°C. (body temperature) thus 'destroying' the lower level crystals.

So, if you have ever melted and used chocolate to cover sweets / candies or to make decorations and found the final result to be dull and lacking sheen, it is because of a lack of tempering. To temper follow the following procedure:

1. Place just a couple of centimetres of water into a saucepan - the chocolate will melt via the heat from the steam that is caused
2. Do not allow the water to boil, if boiling water is allowed to come into contact with the base of the bowl, the delicate chocolate will burn and seize (see above)
3. Having insured that the bowl, etc is clean (as above) place the bowl over the saucepan. This should have a tight a fit as possible so as not to allow steam to escape that could condense back into the chocolate and seize it
4. Place two-thirds of the required chocolate into the bowl (with clean, dry hands) and allow to melt as slowly as possible, stirring often to ensure the un-melted chocolate combines with the melted to form a smooth and even melt. Heat to 40°C
5. Add the remaining chocolate, stir in to melt and cool to 27°C
6. Re-heat to 32°C for dark, 30°C for milk and 28°C for white
7. Keep at this temperature by removing and re-placing the bowl from the heat as required

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Published 02 June 2003