Hello again,

I have a few questions about tempered chocolate. I've been using
Valrhona Caraibe, if it matters.

First, what is the purpose of the final heating when tempering
chocolate? Most guidelines I've seen suggest heating (dark) chocolate
to 130 F, then cooling it to 84-85 F, then heating it again to 88-90 F.
From what I've read, though, the unstable forms of cocoa butter melt at
around 84 F, and the stable ones don't start melting until around 90 F,
so it seems like the chocolate should be usable anywhere within that
temperature range.

The last couple times I tempered chocolate, the final heating to 88-90 F
seemed to kill the temper, so I ended up doing it just by looking at the
appearance of the chocolate. That's been more successful, and the
chocolate has ended up at around 85 F. So I'm curious what the food
chemistry is behind the recommended process.

Second, are there any good ways to minimize the amount of shrinkage that
occurs when tempered chocolate sets? I've noticed a tendency for the
chocolate to shrink to the point where it cracks, usually causing a bead
of sugary syrup to poke out from the ganache (and mar the surface of the
dipped chocolate).

Finally, how important is it to avoid hardened pieces of chocolate (e.g.
bits that have hardened onto the marble slab) when tempering? I've been
trying to avoid them for fear they'd seed the wrong type of cocoa butter
crystal, but maybe I'm being too cautious.

Thanks for any ideas.

Blake

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