Though a decent temper can be obtained with a double boiler, a tempering machine is an essential piece of equipment used by Chocolatiers and home chocolate enthusiasts to create their ideal chocolate creations. A tempering machine is designed to melt chocolate and then bring it to set degree points while constantly stirring. Tempering machines are able to hold the temperature of melted chocolate at a certain degree indefinitely with the aid of a temperature probe. Tempering machines have a large bowl divided down the middle by a bowl scraper, which keeps melted chocolate on one side and chunks to be melted on the other. It can take from 30 minutes to 2 hours to temper a batch of chocolate, depending on the amount and the equipment. Chocolate tempering machines are not cheap, but the results cannot be beat.