Tempering by seeding
The reliable home method: melt most of it, stir in the rest, and let the solid chocolate's existing crystals template the melt.
Seeding uses the fact that tempered chocolate already contains Form V crystals. Melt two-thirds of your chocolate fully, then stir the remaining third in a little at a time — those crystals survive and act as templates for the rest.
It is more reliable than tabling for a home cook, needs no marble slab and creates no mess. The only real requirement is that the seed chocolate is itself in temper, which any unopened bar with a good snap will be.
- What it is for
- To bring chocolate into temper by introducing existing Form V crystals to a melt.
- Working temperature
- 29–32°C — Working temperature by type: dark 31–32°C, milk 30–31°C, white 29–30°C. The windows are about two degrees wide, which is why the thermometer is not optional.
- Works with
- Couverture, Dark couverture, Milk couverture, White couverture
- Does not work with
- Compound coating has no cocoa butter to crystallise and does not temper. Chocolate chips temper in principle and coat too thickly to be worth it.
Method
1. Melt two-thirds of the chocolate fully to 45–50°C for dark.
2. Off the heat, add the remaining third finely chopped, a handful at a time, stirring until each addition dissolves.
Where people go wrong: Adding it all at once, which drops the temperature too far and leaves unmelted lumps.
3. Stop adding when the chocolate reaches working temperature — 31–32°C for dark, 30–31°C milk, 29–30°C white.
Where people go wrong: Continuing to add seed after working temperature is reached, which leaves gritty unmelted pieces.
4. Test on a strip of baking paper. It should set glossy and streak-free within three to five minutes at cool room temperature.
When it goes wrong
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Unmelted lumps remain | Too much seed added, or the melt had cooled too far before seeding started. | Warm very gently to 33–34°C to dissolve them, then bring back down. Do not exceed 34°C or the temper is lost. |
| Test strip is dull and streaky | Out of temper — usually too warm, so the seed crystals dissolved. | Remelt to 45–50°C and seed again. |
What this will not work with
Compound coating has no cocoa butter to crystallise and does not temper. Chocolate chips temper in principle and coat too thickly to be worth it.
Related
Works with
- CouvertureThe reliable home method: melt most of it, stir in the rest, and let the solid chocolate's existing crystals template the melt.
- Dark couvertureThe reliable home method: melt most of it, stir in the rest, and let the solid chocolate's existing crystals template the melt.
- Milk couvertureThe reliable home method: melt most of it, stir in the rest, and let the solid chocolate's existing crystals template the melt.
- White couvertureThe reliable home method: melt most of it, stir in the rest, and let the solid chocolate's existing crystals template the melt.
Covered in
- Tempering step by stepThe method this walks through.
Sources
- ChocolateHQ editorial synthesis — ChocolateHQ(citation identity confirmed; passage not re-read)
- The Science of Chocolate — Royal Society of Chemistry(citation identity confirmed; passage not re-read)