Chopping ¾ of the chocolate into small bits. Leave the remaining chocolate as a solid block and set aside for later use.

Fill about ⅓ full with water and bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat. Transfer the chopped chocolate to a clean, dry, glass bowl and carefully set it down into the pan of hot water. Let the chocolate sit until about halway melted before stirring. When the chocolate starts looking about halfway melted, using a dry rubber spatula to stir the chocolate, helping it to continue melting. Just be careful not to slosh any water into the chocolate while doing this. You can even take the bowl out of the water and set it on a dry towel on the counter while you stir, then return it back to the water if that helps. Let the bowl of chocolate sit in the hot water, stirring it periodically, until the chocolate is completely melted. Once the chocolate is completely melted, use a digital thermometer to check the temperature of the chocolate, watching closely until it reaches 115 degrees F (for dark chocolate) or 110 degrees F (for milk or white chocolate). Don't let the chocolate go over this temperature or you risk burning it, which is why a good thermometer is crucial, in my opinion.

When the chocolate is halfway melted, use a dry rubber spatula to stir the chocolate, taking care not to slosh any water into the chocolate while doing this. Stir the chocolate periodically, until completely melted.

Use a digital thermometer to check the temperature of the chocolate, watching closely until it reaches 115 degrees F (for dark chocolate) or 110 degrees F (for milk or white chocolate).

Once the chocolate reaches 110 to 115 degrees (depending on the type of chocolate you are using), remove the bowl of melted chocolate from the hot water and add the reserved ¼ chunk of chocolate. Stir while the warm chocolate melts the solid chunk of chocolate, to gently bring down the temperature of the warm chocolate to 90 degrees F (for dark chocolate) or 87 degrees F (for milk or white chocolate).

Test to see if the chocolate is in temper by smearing a small amount of the cooled, melted chocolate onto a piece of parchment or waxed paper. It should set and start to lose some of its glossy shine and take on a slightly more matte look, then begin to set around the edges within about 4-6 minutes if in temper.

Once the chocolate is tempered, dip your strawberries into the tempered chocolate one at a time by holding them by the leaves or stem at the top of the berry, then dipping in and swirling to coat evenly around the majority of the berry, just avoiding the leaves. Gently scrape the bottom of the berry (whichever side you are going to set it down on) on the side of the bowl to remove some of the excess chocolate so it won't puddle at the base of each strawberry when placed on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Periodically test the temperature of the tempered chocolate while dipping. If it falls below the 85 degree range, set your bowl of melted, tempered chocolate back in the hot water for 3 seconds to let the chocolate at the bottom of the bowl warm up a bit, then stir it again to mix the warm chocolate from the bottom with the cooler chocolate on top.

When all the strawberries are covered in chocolate, you can pour the remaining tempered chocolate onto parchment paper and allow it to set back into a block form and store it in a cool, dry place to be used the next time you want to temper chocolate. Or use it to dip truffles or pretzels or almonds or whatever else sounds yummy!