Tempering in a microwave oven

Ideal for tempering small quantities of chocolate!

1. Tip some pistoles™ into a plastic or glass container.
2. Place them in a microwave oven and melt them at 800-1000W.
3. Take them out of the microwave every 15 to 20 seconds and stir them well so that the temperature of the pistoles™ is even and the chocolate doesn't burn.
4. Repeat until the chocolate is practically melted. Some small pieces of pistoles™ must still remain in the container.
5. Stop heating and shake the mass well to ensure that all the pistoles™ particles disappear and you obtain an homogenous liquid mass that is slightly thick: the chocolate has been tempered and is ready for processing.

Why do you need to temper chocolate?

Tempering chocolate means pre-crystallising the cocoa butter in the chocolate. This has everything to do with the temperature at which the chocolate is processed. When tempered, the cocoa butter is transformed into a stable crystalline form. This is what guarantees the hardness, shrinkage force and brilliance of the final cooled product. If you melt chocolate normally (at ±40°C) and let it cool again until it reaches its processing temperature, you will not obtain a brilliant result. The three factors that play a role during tempering are duration, temperature and movement. If you use a special technique to bring the chocolate up to its temperature you will achieve the expected result. This is what is meant by tempering: bringing the chocolate up to the temperature at which you wish to work so that it contains sufficient stable crystals.