The process that makes chocolate glossy and snappy by controlled heating and cooling is tempering.
Tempering controls how cocoa butter crystallizes as melted chocolate cools. The goal is to encourage the stable Form V crystal structure, which gives finished chocolate a shiny surface, a clean snap, a smooth texture, and better resistance to fat bloom.
A typical process heats chocolate enough to melt existing crystals, cools it while stirring so new crystals form, and then gently reheats it to remove less-stable crystal types. Exact temperatures vary by chocolate, but dark chocolate is often worked through a range near 40°C, 27–32°C, and roughly 31°C for use.
Untempered chocolate may look dull, soften easily, or develop whitish streaks. Tempering is especially important for molded chocolates, dipped candies, and coatings. It is not the same as curing, rendering, or proofing: those terms describe processes involving materials such as meat, fats, or yeast dough. Cocoa butter’s polymorphism explains why temperature control matters.