Every summer someone asks me if they should keep chocolate in the fridge. The short answer is almost always no. Here is how to store chocolate properly, and what that white film means.
How should you store chocolate? Keep it in a cool, dark place, around 65 to 68 degrees, away from sunlight and strong smells, in its original wrapper or an airtight container. Not the fridge, except as a last resort. That is the whole method. The interesting part is why.
I have been making chocolate in San Francisco since 1987, and I have seen more good chocolate ruined by well-meaning storage than by anything else. People treat it like milk. It is closer to bread.
Should you keep chocolate in the fridge?
Usually not, and for two reasons. First, condensation. When cold chocolate comes out of the fridge, moisture settles on the surface, dissolves a little of the sugar, and leaves a dull, gritty film when it dries. Second, chocolate absorbs odors remarkably well. Cocoa butter picks up whatever is nearby, and nobody wants a caramel that tastes faintly of last night's leftovers.
The exception is a real heat wave. If your kitchen is pushing past 80 degrees, the fridge is the lesser evil. Seal the chocolate in an airtight container or zip bag first, and when you take it out, let it come all the way back to room temperature before you open the bag. The bag catches the condensation instead of the chocolate.
What is the white film on chocolate?
That is bloom, and it is the most common storage casualty. There are two kinds. Fat bloom happens when chocolate gets too warm: the cocoa butter softens, migrates to the surface, and sets as pale streaks. Sugar bloom is the fridge problem I described above, and it feels dusty rather than streaky. Neither is unsafe. The chocolate is just tired, and the texture and melt are never quite the same afterward.
How long does chocolate actually last?
Here is where I will admit our bias. We make chocolate as a fresh food, in small batches, with real cream and butter, so ours is not built to sit around. Our Fleur de Sel Caramels are at their best within a few weeks of being made. Cream-filled pieces like the ones in our Classic Collection, even sooner. Solid bars are the keepers of the family: stored properly, a bar like the ones in our bar collection holds its snap and flavor for months.
A simple rule: the closer something is to fresh cream and fruit, the sooner you should eat it. The closer it is to a solid bar, the more patient it will be with you.
What about summer shipping?
Worth mentioning, since this is when people worry. We ship with cold packs in the warm months and we have been doing it a long time. If a box arrives on a hot porch, bring it in, leave it sealed, and let it settle at room temperature for an hour before opening. Chocolate is more resilient than it looks if you let it come back slowly.
Store it cool, keep it dry, and do not save it for an occasion so special that it never comes. The best storage advice I can give is to eat it while it is fresh. That is what it was made for.
Enjoy,
Chuck Siegel
Founder, Charles Chocolates
Chuck Siegel
Founder, Charles Chocolates
Chuck has been making chocolate in San Francisco since 1987. Self-taught, he founded his first chocolate company, Attivo Confections, sold it in 1995, and started Charles Chocolates in 2004 on one uncommon idea: chocolate should be treated like fresh food.
Everything is made in small batches with all-natural ingredients (real cream, real butter, real fruit) and no shortcuts. His work has earned a Good Food Award, Sunset Magazine's Best of the West, and recognition from San Francisco Magazine, and has been covered by KQED and the San Francisco food press.
