If you’ve ever attempted to make handmade chocolate at home and had something go wrong, chances are it was with the tempering. What exactly is tempering, anyway?! Well, in the world of chocolate, it refers to the necessary process of heating and cooling chocolate to specific temperatures.
Why is this done? Tempering helps the chocolate crystals get properly into place and gives chocolate which is rich, smooth and “snappy” with a good gloss sheen to it.
If chocolate is “out of temper”, it may develops small white dots or streaks. This is called “bloom”, or sometimes “sugar bloom”. It is not an indication that the chocolate is spoiled or off. Merely, it is an accumulation of sugar crystals on the surface of the chocolate brought out by the temperature or moisture getting too high.