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Tempering
TechniquesBastienBastien

Tempering

Tempering is the technique of changing an ingredient's temperature gradually to prevent an unwanted reaction: eggs are tempered so they don't curdle in hot liquid, and chocolate is tempered so its cocoa butter sets in the stable Form V crystals that give gloss and snap.

Tempering is the technique of changing an ingredient's temperature gradually to prevent an unwanted reaction. The word covers two unrelated kitchen processes: tempering eggs (warming them slowly so they don't curdle when added to hot liquid) and tempering chocolate (melting and cooling it so the cocoa butter sets in stable crystals that give gloss and snap).

Both share one idea: slow, controlled temperature change prevents the damage a sudden change would cause. Tempering is what separates a silky crème anglaise from sweet scrambled eggs, and a glossy, snapping bonbon from a dull, streaky one.

How do you temper eggs?

When raw eggs meet hot liquid too quickly, the proteins coagulate on contact and you get cooked flecks floating in your sauce. Tempering raises the eggs' temperature in stages so the proteins set smoothly and evenly once everything is combined.

Egg custards begin to set at about 70 °C (158 °F), and a rise of only a few degrees past the target is enough to overcook and curdle them, which is why a plain custard is usually kept below about 80 °C (Wikipedia). Stirred custards like crème anglaise are classically taken a little higher, to the point where they coat the back of a spoon, and stopped there.

Step-by-step egg tempering

1
Whisk the eggs (or yolks) in a separate heatproof bowl until smooth, with your mise en place ready.
2
Ladle about 60-120 ml of the hot liquid into the eggs while whisking constantly. This first addition is the critical moment.
3
Keep adding hot liquid in a steady stream, whisking throughout, until you've added about half of it and the egg mixture feels warm.
4
Pour the tempered egg mixture back into the pot with the remaining hot liquid, stirring continuously.
5
Cook gently over medium-low heat, stirring, until the mixture reaches its target. Use an instant-read thermometer, because the window between done and curdled is only a few degrees.

Egg tempering applications

Where tempering eggs matters
Crème anglaiseYolks + hot cream, cooked until it coats a spoon, then strained
Pastry creamYolks + hot milk with starch, brought to a boil; the starch protects the eggs from curdling
Ice cream baseYolks + hot cream, cooked like crème anglaise, then chilled fast in an ice bath
CarbonaraWhole eggs + yolks + pasta water, off the heat, residual heat only
AvgolemonoEggs + lemon + hot broth; acid lowers the curdling point, so go gently
HollandaiseYolks + melted butter over gentle heat, an emulsification as much as a tempering

Common mistakes when tempering eggs

Egg Tempering Mistakes
Do
✓Whisk constantly from the first drop of hot liquid
✓Add the first ladle slowly; it's the moment that does the most damage
✓Keep the heat gentle after combining
✓Strain the finished custard through a fine sieve
Don't
✗Adding hot liquid too fast
✗Stopping the whisk, which lets pockets of overheated egg form
✗Cranking up the heat after combining
✗Skipping the strainer; even good technique leaves a few small bits

Carryover cooking applies here too. Once you pull a custard off the heat, the pan keeps cooking it for another degree or two, so pull slightly early and keep stirring, or pour it into a cold bowl.

How do you temper chocolate?

Chocolate tempering is a different process that happens to share the name. Here you're controlling which type of cocoa butter crystal forms as the chocolate sets. Cocoa butter is a polymorphic fat with six crystal forms, and only one of them, Form V, gives chocolate its characteristic snap, gloss, and stable texture (Wikipedia). Tempering melts away the other forms and encourages Form V to grow.

Why temper chocolate?

TemperedUntempered
AppearanceGlossy, uniform sheenDull, matte, streaky
TextureFirm, clean snapSoft, crumbly, bendy
SurfaceSmoothBloom (white streaks or spots)
UnmoldingContracts, releases cleanlySticks to molds
Shelf lifeWeeks at room temperatureDegrades quickly

The white streaks on old or badly stored chocolate are fat bloom: cocoa butter that has migrated to the surface and recrystallized in an unstable form. Proper tempering, and storage away from heat, keeps it off.

Chocolate tempering temperatures

Use an instant-read thermometer. The numbers below follow Callebaut's tutorials: melt between 40 and 45 °C to erase the existing crystals, then bring the chocolate down to its working temperature.

Chocolate Tempering Temperatures
104-113°F / 40-45°CMelt (all types)
88-90°F / 31-32°CDark working temp
84-86°F / 29-30°CMilk working temp
82-84°F / 28-29°CWhite working temp
104-113°F / 40-45°C — Melt (all types)Hot enough to erase existing crystals; white and milk chocolate scorch above this
88-90°F / 31-32°C — Dark working tempTarget after cooling and seeding
84-86°F / 29-30°C — Milk working tempTarget after cooling and seeding
82-84°F / 28-29°C — White working tempCallebaut gives ±29 °C, some sources a degree lower

If the working chocolate climbs more than a couple of degrees past its target, the Form V crystals start to melt and you lose temper. Reheat above 40 °C and start again; chocolate can be re-tempered repeatedly.

Tempering methods

The seeding method is the most practical approach at home. It uses already-tempered chocolate (a bar or Callebaut's callets) to seed the melted chocolate with stable Form V crystals. Callebaut's version: melt to 45 °C, let it fall to about 40 °C, then stir in about 5% unmelted callets at room temperature and keep stirring until the chocolate reaches working temperature (Callebaut).

1
Chop the chocolate finely and set aside about a quarter to a third as seed. Finely chopped seed melts evenly; big chunks can leave the working chocolate too cool before they dissolve.
2
Melt the rest in a bain-marie or the microwave in 15-second bursts to 40-45 °C.
3
Off the heat, add the seed in small handfuls, stirring constantly. If the seed melts instantly, the chocolate is still too warm; add more.
4
Keep stirring until the seed has dissolved and the temperature reaches the working range.
5
Test with the knife tip: it should set evenly, glossy and streak-free, within about 3 minutes at room temperature.

Tabling is the classic professional technique. It's fast for large batches and gives experienced hands the most control, but it needs a marble or granite slab and some practice (Callebaut).

1
Melt all the chocolate to 40-45 °C.
2
Pour two-thirds onto a clean, dry stone surface.
3
Work it with an offset spatula and a bench scraper, spreading and gathering repeatedly. The agitation and cooling seed Form V crystals.
4
When it thickens, about 4-5 °C below working temperature, scrape it back into the bowl with the remaining warm chocolate.
5
Stir until smooth and check that it sits at working temperature.

The microwave method is the quickest for small batches. It works because you never melt all of the chocolate, so some existing Form V crystals survive to seed the rest.

1
Chop the chocolate into small, even pieces and put it in a microwave-safe bowl.
2
Heat at 50% power in 15-second bursts, stirring after each.
3
Stop when about two-thirds has melted and small solid pieces are still visible.
4
Stir continuously until the residual heat melts the last pieces.
5
Check the temperature. It should land in the working range; if it's a little cool, give it 5 more seconds.

This works best with couverture or a good eating bar. Compound chocolate, made with vegetable fats instead of cocoa butter, doesn't need tempering at all.

Tempering chocolate without a thermometer

No thermometer? The seeding method limits the temperature on its own, and two checks tell you whether it worked. Dab a little chocolate on your lower lip: at working temperature it feels barely cool, neither warm nor cold. Then run the knife test, which is the real confirmation. Dip a clean blade and leave it at room temperature. Properly tempered chocolate will:

  • Set within about 3-5 minutes rather than staying wet or tacky
  • Have a uniform glossy surface
  • Release cleanly from the metal
  • Snap rather than bend when broken

If the test fails, reheat above 40 °C and start over. Nothing is lost except time.

Tempering in Fond

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Both kinds of tempering are step-and-timer work. In Fond, a custard or bonbon recipe carries its temperatures in the step text, and Cook Mode runs a timer from any step that has one (the 3-minute knife test, the ice-bath chill) while keeping the screen awake. When you find the exact working temperature your kitchen and your chocolate like, add it to the recipe's notes so it's there next time.

Sources

  1. Tempering chocolate with Callets — Callebaut Chocolate Academy
  2. Tempering chocolate on a table — Callebaut Chocolate Academy
  3. Chocolate — Wikipedia
  4. Custard — Wikipedia
  5. Safe internal cooking temperatures — Health Canada

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Frequently asked questions

Not recommended. Microwaves heat unevenly and create hot spots that curdle parts of the egg before the rest has warmed. Stovetop tempering with constant whisking gives far better control.

It got too hot, or too hot too fast. Stirred custards are done when they coat a spoon, only a few degrees above the point where they start to set, so pull early and keep the heat gentle. Straining removes overcooked bits but can't fix an overall eggy flavor.

Tempering doesn't pasteurize eggs on its own. Health Canada lists 74 °C (165 °F) as the safe temperature for egg dishes (Health Canada). Stirred custards are usually pulled somewhat below that for texture, so if you're cooking for someone vulnerable, use pasteurized eggs or choose a preparation that reaches the full temperature.

No. Melting erases all of the cocoa butter's crystal structure. Tempering is the controlled melt-and-cool that makes it set in Form V. Melted-but-untempered chocolate sets soft, dull, and streaky.

Chop the chocolate evenly, heat it at 50% power in 15-second bursts, stirring after each, and stop while about a third is still solid. Keep stirring until the residual heat melts the last pieces; those unmelted pieces act as seed crystals. Check that the chocolate lands in its working range (31-32 °C for dark, 29-30 °C for milk) before you use it.

Use the seeding method, which self-limits the temperature, then rely on the knife test: dip a knife tip and leave it at room temperature. Callebaut says properly tempered chocolate hardens evenly within about 3 minutes at 18-20 °C. A small dab on your lower lip should feel barely cool, not warm. A thermometer is still the more reliable check.

Sometimes, but results vary. Many chocolate chips are formulated to hold their shape in the oven and contain less cocoa butter than couverture, so they can set dull or streaky even when handled correctly. For dipping and molding, couverture or a good eating bar tempers more predictably.

Melt it to no more than 40-45 °C (it scorches easily), then work it at about 28-29 °C. Callebaut gives ±29 °C as the working temperature for both milk and white chocolate, a couple of degrees below dark.

Not by itself. Tempering only warms the eggs enough to keep them from curdling when they meet the hot liquid. The cooking happens afterward, when the combined mixture is heated to its target. Health Canada lists 74 °C (165 °F) as the safe temperature for egg dishes; stirred custards are usually pulled a little below that, so follow the recipe and use pasteurized eggs if that matters to you.

No. Tempering only matters when chocolate is the final coating or shape: molded bonbons, dipped truffles, chocolate bark. For baking and ganache, melt it and use it.

Related terms

Bain-Marie
Techniques

Bain-Marie

A bain-marie is a cooking technique that uses a water bath (max 100°C) to apply gentle, indirect heat to food, essential for custards, cheesecakes, melting chocolate, and emulsion sauces like hollandaise.

Carryover Cooking
Concepts

Carryover Cooking

Carryover cooking is the rise in internal temperature that food keeps gaining after it leaves the heat. Pull meat below your target so it lands on it after resting.

Emulsification
Techniques

Emulsification

Emulsification is the process of mixing two liquids that normally don't combine (like oil and water) into a stable, uniform mixture — used to make mayonnaise, vinaigrette, hollandaise, and pan sauces.

Instant-Read Thermometer
Tools

Instant-Read Thermometer

An instant-read thermometer is a probe thermometer that shows the internal temperature of food within a few seconds. It is the reliable way to check meat, bread, and frying oil.

Mise en Place
Techniques

Mise en Place

Mise en place is the French culinary term for "everything in its place": preparing and organizing every ingredient and tool before cooking begins, so the cook can focus on heat and timing instead of hunting for things.