Tempered chocolate is very glossy, has a firm finish, and melts smoothly at approximately body temperature. Professionals use tempered chocolate for truffles, dipping berries, and other goodies. Tempered chocolate looks better and lasts longer. Simply melting the chocolate before you use it will not temper it.
The process of tempering involves raising and lowering the temperature of the chocolate to encourage strong, organized crystallization of the cocoa butter so that the finished chocolate will snap sharply, have that glossy look, and will resist chocolate bloom.
For proper tempering, the temperature of the chocolate may not rise any higher than 130°F (54.4°C) or the chocolate will "loose its temper". Therefore, a chocolate tempering thermometer does not go higher than that temperature.
DO NOT use a chocolate tempering thermometer for candy creations as caramelized sugar tops 300°F (149°C) and using this instrument will either be useless or you may even damage the thermometer.
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