Ina Garten Doesn't Like Tempering Chocolate, So She Has Her Own Solution
Ina Garten openly confessed on an episode of "Barefoot Contessa" that when it comes to a recipe that calls for tempering chocolate, she "can't be bothered." As she explained, tempering chocolate "stops [it] from turning gray the next day," but the process is laborious. Melting, cooling, and reheating chocolate takes time. This is why instead of avoiding a recipe that calls for tempering completely, she simply skips that step and makes the recipe the same day.
When you temper chocolate, you are going to have an end product that has a glossy appearance, a texture that is smooth like butter, and a crunchy snap when you break it. Improperly tempered chocolate is 100% the opposite and is not going to make your chocolate connoisseur tastebuds happy. To achieve a beautifully silky texture and exterior for her decadent French chocolate bark, Garten melts her chocolate the day of and uses it immediately. After constantly stirring coarsely chopped chocolate in a makeshift double boiler in the form of a bowl over a pot of boiling water until it is melted, Garten pours it to form her bark.
Just don't overheat it
Why does your chocolate turn gray or white in the first place? When you see those gray or white spots on your chocolate, this is due to the cocoa butter in the chocolate separating and revealing itself at a cosmetic level. This phenomenon is known as fat blooming. Luckily, Garten's method allows for little spontaneity. That said, it is important not to overheat the chocolate or it may get hard.
This trick is perfect when you are making chocolate-dipped strawberries for an impromptu romantic evening or copycat Almond Joy candies to snack on during that horror flick with friends. All these sweets will be gobbled up before it's time to clean up, but even if they aren't, a few white streaks shouldn't stop you from polishing them off. Garten's melted chocolate will also work well for making brownies and even chocolate sauce for your next sundae bar.