What happens if dark chocolate cools to 85°F after tempering?

After tempering, chocolate needs to maintain a specific temperature range to remain stable and retain its shiny appearance and crisp texture. If dark chocolate cools to 85°F after tempering, it will likely lose its tempering state because it falls below the necessary working temperature for the maintained crystalline structure of cocoa butter.

In this situation, slightly warming the chocolate is essential to bring it back to the correct temperature range, usually between 88°F and 90°F for dark chocolate. This rewarming allows the cocoa butter crystals to reform properly, thus ensuring that the chocolate retains its tempered qualities. When properly tempered, chocolate should snap cleanly and shine brightly.

If the chocolate is allowed to cool to a much lower temperature without rewarming, it may seize or become unusable, but a gentle rewarm brings it back into the correct tempering state. Thus, the best action in this scenario is to rewarm the chocolate slightly so that it can regain its desired temper.