I just have the in person knowledge from the M&M chocolatire guy that came in to teach us the Erickson Line. No books, etc. I actually got to teach the business and other employees myself on the industrial hand pans that create the outer shells around the chocolate.
What I learned about chocolate that I can recall off the top of my head:
Cocoa butter can crystallize in six different forms (I-VI), but only the Phase V crystal provides the correct and desired shine, snap, and mouthfeel.
The goal of tempering is to create a stable, organized network of Phase V crystals while eliminating unstable (I-IV) crystals, which cause soft texture and bloom.
The tempering process we where taught is as follows:
1) Melt (45°C - 50°C / 113°F - 122°F): Completely melt all existing crystals in the chocolate.
2) Cool (27°C - 28°C / 80°F - 82°F): Cool the chocolate to create a mix of crystals, both good and bad.
3) Reheat/Working Temp (30°C - 32°C / 87°F - 90°F): Gently warm to melt away undesirable, lower-melting crystals, leaving only the stable Type V, creating the perfect temper.
Properly tempered chocolate is a solid, stable, and glossy matrix. Untempered chocolate has a dull spotty appearance, is often soft/grainy in texture and may develop sugar or fat bloom over time, like the bar you posted.
I'm much more of a sugar work guy, but it's kinda the same thing with chocolate, looking for specific crystalline structures depending on what's being made.
What I learned about chocolate that I can recall off the top of my head:
Cocoa butter can crystallize in six different forms (I-VI), but only the Phase V crystal provides the correct and desired shine, snap, and mouthfeel.
The goal of tempering is to create a stable, organized network of Phase V crystals while eliminating unstable (I-IV) crystals, which cause soft texture and bloom.
The tempering process we where taught is as follows:
1) Melt (45°C - 50°C / 113°F - 122°F): Completely melt all existing crystals in the chocolate.
2) Cool (27°C - 28°C / 80°F - 82°F): Cool the chocolate to create a mix of crystals, both good and bad.
3) Reheat/Working Temp (30°C - 32°C / 87°F - 90°F): Gently warm to melt away undesirable, lower-melting crystals, leaving only the stable Type V, creating the perfect temper.
Properly tempered chocolate is a solid, stable, and glossy matrix. Untempered chocolate has a dull spotty appearance, is often soft/grainy in texture and may develop sugar or fat bloom over time, like the bar you posted.
I'm much more of a sugar work guy, but it's kinda the same thing with chocolate, looking for specific crystalline structures depending on what's being made.