The Ideal Chocolate Type For Tempering

If you bake with chocolate, you've likely experimented with tempering. The tempering process is an absolute must for making your own chocolate-covered desserts, whether candy or other sweet treats, and it requires heating and then cooling your chocolate (via Ghirardelli). In theory, it's a simple process. In practice, however, working with chocolate can be finicky, especially when there's heating involved. Luckily, there are all kinds of tricks and tips that can help you master this necessary skill.

Celebrity chefs all have their opinions on how to properly and easily temper chocolate — Jacques Torres, for example, has all kinds of recommendations for working with chocolate. Meanwhile, Ina Garten takes the quick route for the process, using a microwave to temper chocolate without the fuss. If you'd rather temper your chocolate over hot water, however, follow Alton Brown's advice: Simply stir your chocolate vigorously after dipping it in a hot water bath.

In addition to choosing a tempering strategy, you'll also have to choose a type of chocolate. But selecting the right chocolate to temper isn't just a matter of choosing between milk, white, or dark. Rather, per The Spruce Eats, you'll want to look for a chocolate that is high in cocoa butter. One particular chocolate fulfills this criterion and is ideal for tempering. Compared to other, lower-quality chocolates, this particular chocolate may melt your wallet — but it will also melt perfectly for your desserts.

If you haven't heard of couverture chocolate before, you're not alone. It's not a well-known choice on consumer shelves, but according to Dame Cacao, this chocolate is popular within the chocolate industry and has made a name for itself among chocolatiers. Why? Well, it's perfect for coating all kinds of delicious candies and treats. It eases the process of making bonbons and truffles, as well as any candy that tastes better coated in chocolate (let's be honest — isn't that most candy?).

The reason couverture works so well for tempering is because it contains a high amount of cocoa butter; according to The Spruce Eats, couverture chocolate is more than 30% cocoa butter. This high fat content results in a silky-smooth consistency upon melting and eases the tempering process at large. As a caveat, the high cocoa content makes couverture chocolate one of the more expensive bulk chocolates to choose from. However, such is the price of quality chocolate and a simplified tempering process.

Once you settle on a brand of couverture chocolate, you can pick its degree of darkness. Fortunately for chocolate lovers, couverture chocolate isn't characterized by color but by fat content. It therefore comes in dark, milk, or white, allowing you to temper to your heart's content no matter which kind of chocolate you love the most.