Tempering chocolate

Cocoa butter can set in several crystal forms, and only one gives shiny, firm chocolate that releases cleanly from molds. Tempering melts all the crystals, then cools and rewarms the chocolate within narrow temperature ranges so that mainly the right crystals form. Typical ranges are: dark chocolate melted to 113 to 122°F (45 to 50°C), cooled to 81 to 82°F (27 to 28°C) and rewarmed to 88 to 90°F (31 to 32°C); milk chocolate melted to 104 to 113°F (40 to 45°C), cooled to 79 to 81°F (26 to 27°C) and worked at 84 to 86°F (29 to 30°C); white chocolate melted to 104 to 113°F (40 to 45°C), cooled to 77 to 79°F (25 to 26°C) and worked at 82 to 84°F (28 to 29°C). The exact numbers vary by brand, so follow the temperatures on your chocolate's label when it gives them.

The seeding method stirs chopped tempered chocolate into melted chocolate; tabling cools part of it on a marble slab. Untempered chocolate sets soft and dull and can show gray streaks, called bloom.