Chocolate 101

Two of chocolate's main ingredients are cocoa solids and cocoa butter. Cocoa solids are what give chocolate its distinct flavor, and cocoa butter is what gives it its smooth, creamy richness. The proportion of cocoa butter in chocolate is one of the factors that determines the quality (and the price) of chocolate. The best chocolate for dipping is called couverture. It comes in a solid block or in easily meltable "coins."  Couverture contains a high proportion of cocoa butter, and has a deep color and a shine to it. It will break with a clean snap. Since the melting point of cocoa butter is just below your body temperature, this chocolate will literally melt in your mouth. Because of its high cocoa butter content, though, couverture can be quite difficult to work with, and needs to be tempered.

If you're willing to sacrifice decadence for the sake of convenience, you can use compound chocolate. This kind of chocolate has been specially processed so that some or all of the cocoa butter is removed from the cocoa solids. The cocoa butter is replaced with some other kind of less moody vegetable fat, such as cottonseed oil, soybean oil, or palm kernel oil. This kind of chocolate will not have the same shine and snap as real chocolate, and may not melt in your mouth in quite the same way, but it does not require the same kind of special treatment that couverture does.

If you want to work with chocolate other than compound chocolate, either for dipping, molding, or piping, it must first be tempered. Tempering is tricky business: it involves melting and then re-aligning the microscopic crystals in the cocoa butter so that they re-harden exactly the way you want them. There are at least six different ways that cocoa butter crystals can align themselves, and only one way that provides the strong temper you require. If the crystals are incorrectly aligned, your chocolate will be dull and streaky, or it will not harden at room temperature. To correctly align the cocoa butter crystals, you need to slowly melt them by bringing the chocolate up to a temperature of 120 degrees F (50 degrees C), and then re-form them through a process of cooling and agitation.

• You can "table" the chocolate or "seed" it: tabling involves spreading about ¾ of the melted chocolate on a marble slab with a putty knife, scraping it into a pile, and spreading it thin again, until the chocolate cools to about 80 degrees F (27 degrees C).
• Return the chocolate to the bowl of remaining warm chocolate, stirring well; the chocolate should now be its ideal temperature of 88-90 degrees F (31-32 degrees C).
• To seed chocolate, stir in finely chopped or shaved chocolate into the warm melted chocolate; since the chopped chocolate is already in temper, you are encouraging the melted chocolate to form similar crystal structures.
• Stir until the chocolate reaches body temperature when touched to your lip or the inside of your wrist.
• Test for temper by dipping a knife point into the chocolate; it should harden within three to five minutes, depending upon the temperature of the room. If it does not harden, begin the process again.

The two best ways to temper chocolate at home are in a double boiler or in the microwave. Small amounts of chocolate are harder to temper than big batches, so experimenting can get expensive--but practice with at least 12 oz. of chocolate, or a full bag of chocolate chips.

• If you're using a double boiler, make sure the water is not touching the bottom of the upper pan. Bring the water up to a simmer, then turn off the heat before adding the chocolate, or keep it on low heat.
• Always wipe the condensation off the bottom of the bowl when removing it from the heat; water can cause melted chocolate to "seize."
• To temper chocolate in the microwave, place the chocolate in a glass bowl and zap it on high power for 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each interval.

It's tremendously helpful to have an accurate thermometer when tempering chocolate, but if you want to try it without one, you can use your lips to gauge the temperature, since they are significantly more sensitive than your hands. Keep in mind that 120 degrees F is just a little bit warmer than your lips (not hot!), 80 degrees F will feel cool (although the chocolate will be mostly liquid), and that 90 degrees F is just slightly cooler than your lips. Do a "temper test" as described above, or drizzle a little bit of the chocolate onto a piece of waxed paper. Let it set up for 5 minutes. If it's glossy and hard, your chocolate is correctly tempered.

White chocolate and milk chocolate have different tempering temperatures, so stick with dark (bittersweet or semisweet) chocolate until you feel comfortable with the process.

The two most common problems of working with chocolate are separating and seizing.

• Separation happens when you get the chocolate too hot. The melting point of chocolate, especially that which contains a large amount of cocoa butter, is very distinct: one second, you have a bowl full of chocolate lumps, and a second later you have a silky-smooth bowl of melted chocolate. Because the change is so sudden, many people get impatient and make the mistake of turning up the temperature too high in order to speed up the process. When chocolate gets too hot, the cocoa butter separates from the solids, and there is no way to salvage it (although you can bake with it; it will taste fine in brownies). The best way to thwart separation is to use gentle heat and stir frequently.
• Seizing occurs when moisture is introduced to melted chocolate. In the blink of an eye, you can go from a smooth bowl of liquid chocolate to a lumpy, grainy mess. Even the tiniest amount of liquid--a single drop of water, the moisture clinging to a strawberry, or the steam from a double boiler--will cause this kind of reaction. It is possible to rescue seized chocolate. The way to do this is, ironically enough, to add more liquid. Where a little bit of moisture causes seizing, lots of moisture will allow chocolate to relax again.

(If your chocolate separates or seizes beyond repair, use it in these recipes.)