Tempering Chocolate

Melt chocolate wrong and it turns grainy, dull, and blooms with white streaks. Temper it correctly — through precise heating, cooling, and reheating to align cocoa butter crystals into Form V — and it snaps cleanly, shines like glass, and melts on your tongue at exactly body temperature. Professional chocolatiers and pastry chefs consider tempering a gateway skill. It requires a thermometer, a marble slab (or the seeding method), and patience. The difference is immediately visible and audible.