Couverture Chocolate

Professional Quality Couverture for Baking, Patisserie, Confectionery Applications

Couverture is a form of pure chocolate used by professional pastry chefs and chocolatiers. Known for creating a beautifully glossy shining finish and distinctive snap, this chocolate contains a minimum of 32 percent cocoa butter, which allows it to flow more easily when it's melted and tempered. Because of the higher cocoa butter content, couverture is considered a higher-quality chocolate that is engineered for enrobing, molding, and dipping in addition to bakery applications. Professional pastry shops, bakeries, restaurants, and caterers use this ingredient to create pastries, baked goods, confections, molded candy, dipped fruits or treats, enrobed products, and beautiful edible decorations. Both dark and milk chocolate couvertures are available, as well as unique ingredients like Ruby Couverture and Fruit Couvertures. White couverture contains a high percentage of cocoa butter, but because it doesn't contain cocoa, it is technically not chocolate at all.

What is the difference between good and great chocolate?

Most professional chocolatiers consider that what makes a great chocolate is the amount of cocoa solids (cocoa butter) present. Cocoa butter is what makes chocolate melt in your mouth and provides its distinctive smooth texture and flavor. Cocoa butter content also determines whether the chocolate needs to be tempered for maximum snap and shine. The percentage should be a minimum of over 45 percent for dark chocolate and 30 percent for milk chocolate. Truly great chocolates have cocoa solids over 70 percent. Great chocolate should contain no more than 6 or so ingredients on the label and clearly indicate the percentage of cocoa solids (cocoa butter). Solids is the key term since some companies will advertise 70 percent cocoa, but this can include cocoa powder. Chocolate made from other fats is called compound chocolate or confectionery coating, does not melt in the mouth, and sometimes has a waxy feel.

Tempering Chocolate

What is tempering?

Because melted chocolate is a liquid and hardened chocolate has a crystaline structure, tempering is a process that ensures crystal formation is stable. Stable crystals give chocolate a smooth, silky texture, a crisp "snap" when hardened, and will have a glossy, shining finish rather than a dull greyish bloom.

How to temper couverture:

The basic process involves melting, then cooling, then raising the temperature again for achieve perfect crystal structure. Different types of chocolate require different temperature ranges for tempering. When possible, always follow manufacturer instructions for tempering specific couvertures. The following are general tempering instructions for couverture:

• Fill a pot or the bottom section of a double boiler 1/8 to 1/4 full with water. Bring to a gentle simmer.
• Place couverture chips or chunks into heat-safe bowl or top section of double boiler and place on top of pot of water, stirring frequently until chocolate is melted and reaches a temperature of:
  • Dark Chocolate: 115 to 120°F
  • Milk Chocolate: 115 to 117°F
  • White Chocolate: 115 to 117°F
  Remove from heat while measuring temperature with candy thermometerfor accurate reading.
• When chocolate temperature reaches the desired temperature, remove the bowl from the heat, dry the bottom of the bowl, and begin the essential stage of cooling and agitating. Cool until chocolate temperature reaches 83°F.
  • One way of cooling the melted chocolate, known as "seeding," is to add chopped, un-melted couverture (about a third of the total amount) to the bowl then stir vigorously until chocolate is melted.
  • Many pastry chefs use a method called "tabling" to temper chocolate, a cooling-and-agitating method that involves pouring two-thirds of the melted chocolate onto a marble slab. The chocolatier quickly spreads it thin with a metal spatula, scrapes it back into a pile with a putty knife, and spreads it thin again, repeating until the right consistency and temperature are reached. This cooled chocolate is then stirred into the bowl of reserved warm chocolate.
  • Another method for rapid cooling is to dip the bowl of chocolate into a bowl of cold water and a few ice cubes at 10 second intervals, stirring in between, until chocolate reaches desired temperature.
• When chocolate temperature reaches 83°F, replace on simmering pot or double boiler and re-heat until chocolate temperature reaches:
  • Dark Chocolate: 88 to 90°F
  • Milk Chocolate: 86 to 88°F
  • White Chocolate: 82 to 84°F
  This is the temperature required to give the finished chocolate a shiny, smooth finish and crisp snap.
• Make sure to wipe away any condensation from bottom of bowl before pouring out chocolate. The chocolate can now be used for molding, coating, drizzling, and dipping.

Troubleshooting tempering:

The two most common problems of working with chocolate are separation and seizing. Separation happens when you get the chocolate too hot too quickly. Many people get impatient and make the mistake of turning up the temperature too high in order to speed up the process. When chocolate gets too hot, the cocoa butter separates from the solids, and there is no way to salvage it, although it remains fine for baking and will taste fine in brownies or other baked goods. The best way to avoid separation is to use gentle heat and stir frequently.

Seizing occurs when moisture is introduced to melted chocolate. The addition of moisture transforms smooth, liquid chocolate into a lumpy, grainy mess. Even the tiniest amount of liquid — a single drop of water, the moisture clinging to a strawberry, or the steam from a double boiler — will cause this kind reaction. Siezed chocolate can be "rescued" for use as ganache or filling by gradually adding a small amount of warmed liquid (cream or fat) to the chocolate until the consistency is smooth again.