that imitate cocoa butter but have the taste and properties of paraffin They do not crystallize in the same way as cocoa butter, and proper crystallization is the key to tempering chocolate You can temper dark, milk, or white chocolate as long as it’s couverture Dark chocolate couverture consists of cocoa paste (the natural cocoa solids in the cocoa bean), granulated sugar, and cocoa butter (the natural fat in the cocoa bean) Milk chocolate is the same, but milk powder is added to those ingredients, making this a pleasant chocolate to eat White chocolate contains cocoa butter, granulated sugar, and milk powder but no cocoa solids No matter which chocolate couverture you want to use, it is important to know that the water content of all of these chocolates is zero This explains their long shelf life Without the presence of water, bacteria cannot easily grow That’s why chocolate never needs to be kept in a refrigerator or freezer; it should always be kept at room temperature, protected with plastic wrap When you need to melt chocolate couverture so that you can use it as a decoration or coating, as we do in Fours de Lin, the chocolate must be melted in a controlled way so that some of the cocoa butter remains in crystal form and all of the crystals are small and of a uniform size once the chocolate hardens If you have more crystallized cocoa butter molecules present in the melted chocolate than melted ones the chocolate will set properly If too much of the cocoa butter in the chocolate is melted it will not set, or at least not for several hours ... want to use, it is important to know that the water content of all of these chocolates is zero This explains their long shelf life Without the presence of water, bacteria cannot easily grow That’s why... we do in Fours de Lin, the chocolate must be melted in a controlled way so that some of the cocoa butter remains in crystal form and all of the crystals are small and of a uniform size once the chocolate... crystallized cocoa butter molecules present in the melted chocolate than melted ones the chocolate will set properly If too much of the cocoa butter in the chocolate is melted it will not set, or at least not