Chocolate Tempering Machine: What is the use of this machine?
A chocolate tempering machine is an electronic melting and cooling tray or appliance which is designed to eliminate all the handwork and guesswork out of tempering chocolate for baking, cooking, making chocolate drinks and candies, or any other use.
The chocolate must be melted at the correct temperature, otherwise it will not achieve the desired set properties, and it will not taste right. If it does not, then it will have a poor flavor, and people will reject it. Chocolate should be melted at a temperature of just below room temperature, and it can be baked at low or high temperatures according to the needs of the recipe.
A chocolate tempering machine uses three different kinds of thermometers. There are digital (which look like small digital clocks) which are quite accurate and depend only on temperature, and are usually inexpensive, and there are dial thermometers which require physical temperature to be read, and which are often more accurate, but are a bit more expensive.
Digital models can be programmed with specific temperatures and are usually very easy to use. Dial models, however, require a temperature reading from multiple points and the more complex the program, the more it will cost. It is also necessary to program in a temperature range which is ideal for baking, as the ranges used for chocolate in these recipes are often very narrow.
Once you have decided to buy a chocolate tempering machine, you will need to decide what type of machine you want to purchase. If you want the cheapest one possible or the simplest one, then you will probably go for a digital model. A dial model can also be very simple, and will probably just be a large plate with several buttons which will allow you to change the chocolate temperature and temper it yourself. However, if you are a talented home chef and want to ensure consistent results every time you bake chocolate, then a digital machine will be your best option.
As mentioned before, there are many different types of chocolate tempering machines, all of them relatively inexpensive and easy to use. For example, you can get a chocolate warmer that uses a marble slab for the bottom of the device, which will allow you to melt down the chocolate, place it into the container and then turn it around to continue melting it in the other direction.
There is also a version of this device that actually uses water to temper the chocolate, using a pressure cooker to melt and press it into a marble slab, so that the chocolate is harder and more consistent when being made into the finished product. These models are not as popular, but may be worth considering if you are looking for a basic model.