The day I realized I was over-tempering my chocolate for 6 months

I was working on a batch of bonbons last Tuesday and they just would not set right. They kept getting these weird streaks and a dull finish no matter what I did. I had been using the seeding method but adding way too much agitation because I thought more mixing meant smoother chocolate. Then a pastry chef buddy stopped by and watched me for a minute. He goes "why are you stirring that like it owes you money?" I tested his suggestion to just let it sit more after seeding and boom perfect shiny snap. So apparently I was breaking the crystal structure by being too aggressive the whole time. Has anyone else had a basic technique they just overcomplicated for months without realizing?

2 comments

2 Comments

noah_rivera5715d agoTop Commenter

Stopped reading after "stirring that like it owes you money" because I just choked on my coffee from laughing.

coleman.henry15d ago

Three years ago I saw a TikTok of a guy stirring his iced coffee with a metal straw so hard it chipped the glass. That's the energy we're talking about here. Honestly though, I think that kind of hyper-specific description is the only way to make a boring routine worth reading about. Every post about someone making coffee or folding laundry blends together unless you throw in a weird analogy like that. So the joke worked, even if you almost killed yourself laughing.