Making chocolate in your home kitchen can be difficult, but it's worth it. Tempering the finicky chocolate is the hardest part of making treats like homemade peanut butter cups or chocolate covered strawberries . That's why we asked Nicole Patel, owner and chocolatier of Delysia Chocolatier , about tempering chocolate in our home kitchens.
"You can't simply melt the chocolate and use it. It must be tempered to receive the shiny outer chocolate layer," says Patel. "The environment must be conducive to working with chocolate.
" The temperature of your kitchen matters. Too warm and the chocolate won't set properly, too cold and it may harden faster than you'd like. The best temperature is around 65 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
The temperature of your work surface matters as well. Patel informs us that the "surface must be cool and dry, preferably made of marble or granite, to maintain a consistent working temperature." Finally, the humidity of your kitchen makes a difference.
If the humidity is too high your chocolate may turn out dull or have white streaks. Ideally your kitchen is at 50%-65% humidity. This feels like a lot to control for, but it's possible.
Creating a chocolate friendly kitchen "Chocolate is temperamental. It needs a lot of tender love and care," Nicole Patel says. To get your kitchen ready for chocolate making, first, get that AC running to get the temperature in the right zone.
If you don't have marble or granite counters, you can purchase a marble pastry cutting.
