Do You Need To Temper White Chocolate?

When cooking with regular milk or dark chocolate, you sometimes need to temper it. Tempering involves heating and cooling the chocolate to make it smooth, shiny, and less likely to melt when touched. This is especially important when preparing chocolate-dipped treats, as it gives things like chocolate-dipped strawberries their iconic appearance and prevents them from getting melty too quickly. However, since white chocolate is not the same as milk or dark chocolate, you may wonder if white chocolate needs to be tempered as well. To find the answer, Tasting Table spoke exclusively to expert baker and cookbook author Erin Jeanne McDowell.

According to McDowell, despite not having the same ingredients as regular chocolate, white chocolate can be treated exactly the same when it comes to tempering. She told Tasting Table, "Like any chocolate, it depends completely on the use. If you're making truffles or dipping something in chocolate, the chocolate does usually require tempering, or it won't be snappy or shiny – it may not ever fully set at all after dipping!" If you want a simple way to temper your white chocolate, consider tempering white chocolate chips in the microwave.

However, McDowell says that tempering is not necessary when the chocolate is melted and used as a recipe ingredient instead of being a key component of the treat itself. "If you're making hot chocolate or ganache — no, it doesn't need to be tempered," she said. For more baking tips, visit Erin's YouTube channel or follow her on Instagram.

When tempering white chocolate, you'll get the best results if you use the best ingredients. In an exclusive interview with Tasting Table, Alex Guarnaschelli recommended using white chocolate that's meant for baking rather than snacking. "Go to your baking aisle as opposed to going to the counter where the candy bars and stuff are. Look at your baking aisle, and that's probably where you're going to find the better stuff," she said. In addition, Guarnaschelli warned against overheating white chocolate or adding other fats, as the chocolate can burn quickly and is already high-fat, thanks to its cocoa butter composition.

You can dip tons of things in tempered white chocolate. It all comes down to preference. Common choices include fruits like strawberries and apples, other desserts like brownies and Rice Krispies Treats, and salty morsels like pretzels and peanuts. It makes for a great party dessert, as you can keep the chocolate simmering in a fondue pot and let your guests dip various items in as they please. You can also use tempered white chocolate to make these delicious white chocolate lemon truffles or white chocolate pumpkin spice truffles.