temper

   1. To slowly bring up the temperature of a colder ingredient by adding small amounts of a hot or boiling liquid, or even applying heat carefully Adding the heat or hot liquid gradually prevents the cool ingredient, such as eggs, from cooking or setting. The tempered mixture can then be added back to a hotter liquid for further continued cooking. This process is used most in making pastry cream and the like.

   2. To bring chocolate to a state in which it has snap, shine and no streaks ( feathers ). Commercially available chocolate is already tempered but this condition changes when it is melted. Tempering is often done when the chocolate will be used for candy making or decorations. Chocolate must be tempered because it contains cocoa butter, a saturated fat which has the ability to form crystals, chocolate is melted and cooled. Dull grey streaks form and are called bloom or feathers. The classic tempering method is to melt chocolate until it is totally without lumps (semisweet chocolate melts at a temperature of 104 degrees F.) One third of the chocolate is then poured onto a marble slab then spread and worked back and forth with a metal spatula until it becomes thick and reaches a temperature of about 80°F. The thickened chocolate is then added back to the remaining 2/3 melted chocolate and stirred. The process is repeated until the entire mixture reaches 88-92 degrees for semisweet chocolate, 84-87 degrees for milk or white chocolate.