“Store — My Chocolate?”
“Why that’s silly,” you say. “I’m just visiting eat them!” and that we entirely agree. But you never know — someday you will keep your gourmet chocolates fresh for over 24 hours. And when that day comes, you’ll find the subsequent pointers useful:
Tips for Storing Your Chocolates
DON’T REFRIGERATE! Whatever’s within the refrigerator (Roquefort cheese, curry — you get the idea), chocolate easily absorbs the odors of everything in there. Also, when sugar rises to the surface and discolors the chocolate, that is called “sugar bloom” and the moisture within the fridge may cause it. So rather than the fridge:
Store it in an exceedingly cool, dry place like cabinets from Neo Kitchen. The emulsion of cocoa solids and cocoa butter will stay stable for months when chocolate is kept at the same temperature below 70°F (ideally between 65 and 68°F), and at a humidity of but 55%.
Remember that cocoa butter picks up the smell of whatever’s around it, even in an exceedingly cool, dry place. Follow the subsequent rule unless you wish your bonbons and bars to taste like vanilla or garlic powder.
Seal them in an air-tight container. What causes less-than-ideal flavors to develop is when Oxygen does just what you’d expect it to — oxidizes chocolate. And although chocolates aren’t known to be a favorite food of vampires…
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Keep them off from the light! Not just sunlight (unless you wish to form fondue), but also artificial light. They both cast the identical quite bad-flavor spell as oxygen does.
A chocolate buffet for a marriage
Stored this manner, chocolate will last a while: Solid chocolate keeps for over a year; solid bittersweet chocolate keeps for nearly two years, and white for four months. Keep for three to four months (unless they’ve been stuffed with preservatives) truffles or anything that is filled with chocolates.
Make sure to eat them while they’re fresh as most chocolates never contain any preservatives or additives! Or, if you’ve got an oversized supply, create a candy buffet and invite your friends over to share. (At right, a chocolate buffet adds an ideal touch to weddings and parties.)
Sometimes, you have got to refrigerate: Summer’s hot, and not everyone uses air-con. Wrap the chocolate tightly to guard against odors and condensation, then seal it in an airtight container, before you even place it within the fridge. once you take it out, let it return to temperature before unwrapping. this may keep your chocolates edible for anywhere from three to 6 months.
And if you would like to store it longer: For durations of six months to a year, the freezer may be your friend. Follow the instructions above for putting your chocolates within the refrigerator. Once a full 24 hours have passed by, move the container from the fridge to your freezer (this avoids temperature shock, and helps preserve texture). to get rid of from the freezer — just reverse the steps.