Tuesday, 06 September 2011
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When Chocolate Goes Bad...
I've never had bad chocolate, so the idea of it is new to me. But apparently there are five ways to know if chocolate has gone bad. Here they are:
1. Fat Bloom
The 'fat bloom' on your chocolate is that white or gray coat on the surface of the chocolate. In the case of chocolate exclusively, it is safe to consume fat-bloomed chocolate. The fat bloom occurs when the cocoa butter fats separate from the cocoa.2. Sugar Bloom
Sugar bloom results in gross tasting chocolate. It usually takes place when the chocolate has been stored in bad temperatures (exposed to humidity or moved too quickly from hot to cold temperatures). The temperature fluctuations causes the sugar to crystallize resulting in a grainy texture. Like the fat bloom, the sugar bloom is also safe to consume.3. Odor
Your nose is the best tool to determine whether chocolate has gone bad. Chocolates absorb odors so sniff your chocolate to see if you would want to eat it. On that note, it's best to store your chocolate properly if you're keeping it in a fridge.4. Quality & Freshness
There may be no expiration date on your chocolate, but it is best to consume it within a year of its production. Really high quality chocolate can last beyond a year, and some get better with age like wine. Why? High quality chocolates contain flavanols (natural preservatives) that keep them fresher tasting for a longer period of time.5. Taste
It only takes a small bite to know whether your chocolate is in good condition. A quick nibble should warn your senses if something is off.Have you ever accidentally eaten spoiled chocolate? What's your favorite kind of chocolate?
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- From: larabs@xanga
- About Me: I'm a Rutgers University graduate who discovered a passion for writing in college when I found myself enjoying researching for and writing papers instead of working at biology labs. In my spare time, I enjoy cooking and watching movies--I am in pursuit of learning to fluently speak French and Italian after developing an interest in these languages from watching foreign films. Apart from foreign films and cooking, my interests include photography, traveling, art history and interior design. twitter.com/sushbaral
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Comments (25)
I've never had the horror of eating really bad chocolate but a couple of distance relatives have back in the 1930s in Michigan. They were 1st cousins of my grandmother. They were allowed to go to the movies but my then-teenaged grandmother wasn't allowed to due the religious extremism of her father. She was later glad of this when she met up with her cousins afterwards. They'd each bought a chocolate bar and one for her as well. Grandma thanked them and put hers in her pocket. The other two started eating theirs. One finished. The other got halfway through and started gagging. She's suddenly noticed that her chocolate bar was full of tiny wriggling white worms! Both girls were gagging by the time relization struct. They crammed fingers down their throats to throw up the offending stuff. Grandma, horrified, just quietly threw her untouched candy bar away.
@Ampbreia@xanga - I... I'm at a loss for words. 0_O
@sbaral@xanga - Worms and/or other issues aside, I doubt I have a favorite kind. Chocolate is chocolate. 'nuff said. :D
i have some bars holed up at home for a little over a year now. i wonder how they would taste...? my mom keeps telling me to just throw them out :/.
really old chocolate vs. really old canned food. I'll go for the safer one.. canned food could have toxins in them
Yes I have. Lots of fat bloom ones. Once that had chocolate that absorbed odors of herbs kept in the same cabinet. Milk chocolate gets a "cow stink" after time.
i've only have the fat bloom on chocolate. It tastes the same with it
Storing chocolate? Hm, I usually consume it sometime
shortlyafter buying it.
hershey kisses tend to get the "fat blooms" bc people leave them out and forget about them and put them in jars and what not. :)
I had no idea chocolate spoils but it rarely ever gets store too long before it is consumed. If any of the above events occur, and the flavor and quality suffers, it's going into the trash.
I bake a lot and make desserts all the time so I have to buy my chocolate chips (and all other baking supplies) in bulk. The "fat bloom" is super normal, it's also called chocolate wax, and I always see it (even before I've opened the bag for the first time). I've never really had any of the other issues though except I recently had some milk chocolate--which I rarely ever use--go bad and it tasted pretty gross in some cookies.
Didn't know it could spoil. I save chocolate until everybody else eats all of theirs, then I tease them with mine :P and I'm pretty sure I agree with @Lakakalo@xanga ...chocolate is chocolate. I don't believe I could have a favorite.
One thing to keep in mind about chocolate bloom is that it is an indication that it is out of temper. As the entry said, it is still perfectly fine to consume.
I wonder what 50 year old chocolates look like.
@Ampbreia@xanga - Good family story!
@Ampbreia@xanga - Recently my family went on a day trip to the lake. We stopped at an ice cream place and we all got ice cream cones. My dad was the last one to finish the ice cream and get to the cone. When he took the paper off of the cone he saw ants crawling all over it! UGH!
@oxlorixo@xanga - Eww... And to think some people actually call chocolate covered ants a delicacy!
What? Chocolate can't go bad! HERESY!!
I haven't had it go bad, but I got some godiva and put that bag in the same bag that I put some bath bombs... the next day all the chocolate tasted like bath bombs and had to be thrown out. Major fml moment there.
Bad chocolates leave a bad aftertaste and this weird white film on your tongue. I love all kinds of chocolates.
@Fatal_Lightning@xanga - Hershey* Oh wait...nm.
chocolate does not last long enough in my house with two adult chocoholics and a mini-chocoholic following suit.
I don't care if it has worms... I love chocolates!
yeah...chocolate doesn't stay around long enough to go bad here.
Not chocolate, but I remember as a kid in elementary school a group of friends and I were sitting around our lunch table and one of the girls had a nutty butter (the wafer bars with peanut butter in between, dipped in a chocolate type substance) and she was eating it layer by layer. About 1/2 way through she discovered a line of missing filling. Took the next, and the next layer off only to find a maggot had eaten its way through the bar. To this day, I can not eat them
:O
@KageOokami@xanga - LOL!
This one time I had a chocolate bar from godiva that I forgot about.I dont know how old it was but when I opened it, it had turned to chocolate dust!