Chocolate tempering — the process of melting chocolate and then re-crystallising the cocoa butter into the specific Type V crystal form through a specific temperature progression — is the fundamental technique of French confiserie. Untempered chocolate is dull, soft, and blooms. Tempered chocolate is glossy, snaps cleanly, melts at the correct temperature, and contracts from the mold.
- **Why tempering is needed:** Cocoa butter can form six different crystal polymorphs (Types I–VI). Only Type V (the beta-2 crystal) produces the correct texture and appearance. The tempering process selectively grows Type V crystals. - **The temperature progression for dark chocolate:** 1. Melt to 50–55°C (all crystals melt) 2. Cool to 27°C (Type V and some Type VI crystals form) 3. Reheat to 31–32°C (Type VI crystals melt; only Type V remains) — [VERIFY] Robuchon's specific temperature points. - **Ganache:** Cream heated to just below boiling poured over chopped chocolate — the cream's heat melts the chocolate; the emulsification of the cream's fat and the chocolate's fat produces the smooth, pourable ganache. The ratio: 1:1 cream to chocolate for a standard ganache; 1:2 for a firmer ganache for truffles; 2:1 for a pouring sauce.
The Complete Robuchon