fruits including apples, oranges, pears and bananas don’t belong in the refrigerator unless you’re not planning on eating them soon. I don’t refrigerate tomatoes, avocados or peppers either. Very hot climates are an exception, however.

Tempering is a word that means improving the consistency, durability or hardness of a substance by heating and cooling it. Tempered chocolate is very glossy, has a firm finish and melts smoothly at around body temperature. It is chocolate at its very best and tempered chocolate is what most good quality chocolate candies, candy bars are made out of.

Tempering is done by melting solid chocolate to a temperature high enough that the crystals in the cocoa butter break down. This temperature is between 45°C – 48°C. Once the chocolate is fully melted, it must be cooled to about 28°C, a temperature at which crystals will start to form again so that the chocolate can eventually re-solidify and can be worked upon. All chocolate – white, milk and dark can be tempered.

The crystals that start to form when the chocolate is cool are stable crystals contained in the cocoa butter of chocolate. They provide the necessary structure for the chocolate to become