The Shelf Life of Chocolate
August 29, 2010
It's Q&A time. Here is another question from a subscriber:
"Once chocolate has been melted, how long is it good for once it has been molded (again)?"
Chocolate is a very versatile and tolerant product to work with, the nuances of tempering aside. Chocolate can be melted, tempered and molded, re-melted, re-tempered and re-molded, again and again.
The shelf life of chocolate depends on whether it is milk or dark and whether or not it has inclusions like nuts, coconut, or dried fruit.
Dark chocolate lasts the longest before oxidizing, or going rancid. Cocoa butter is a very stable fat and once chocolate is crystallized, or tempered, it can resist bloom - fat migration - fairly well.
A good temper and a consistent environment during storage are two of the more important steps to making dark chocolate last a long time. Typically, the shelf life of dark chocolate is nine to twelve months (I have seen it last longer). In fact, age will actually enhance the flavor of chocolate, although it will be subtle.
If some bloom is present on the surface of the chocolate, melt the chocolate, temper it and mold again and it will be fine. Bloom is that grayish or whitish coating that can form on the surface of chocolate. It does not destroy the flavor of the chocolate, but the appearance is not appealing.
Milk chocolate has a shelf life range of six months to nine months. The main reason milk chocolate has a shorter timeline is that the milk fat (butter oil) part of the milk oxidizes or goes rancid faster than cocoa butter. The higher the milk content in chocolate, the shorter the life span.
Adding nuts to chocolate will decrease the shelf life in terms of bloom and rancidity. Nut oils migrate quickly to the surface of the chocolate causing bloom, and the oils behave similarly to milk fat in that they oxidize faster.
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Dear Ms Kirk,
I am an university students doing an assignment on distribution of a product to a country in Africa. I chose chocolates in Ethiopia, but I am unable to find information on the storage of of this type of product. I am not sure if you could help, but your help would be greatly appreciated. I would like to know what are the warehousing requirements for chocolate, and how big/small should shelves be? What determines the price of a chocolate? And how many minutes/hours can chocolate last inside of a truck (when it is being delivered) before melting?
Thank you for your questions. I have so many questions of my own (for example: the temp/humidity of Ethiopia, the length of travel in a truck and the type of truck – is it refrigerated? – what is the product made of?) that would influence the answers but even with this information I would not know the detailed answers to these specific questions that you are probably looking for. I assume when you say “chocolates” you mean a couverture (coating) that is in a stable tempered state. If so, keep in mind that while chocolate in this condition is shelf stable for many months, the conditions of the surrounding environment needs to be controlled at all times. The melt point of cocoa butter is generally around 89-91 degrees F but can start melting at even lower temps, especially at the surface of the chocolate. The humidity should be low and ideally some air movement with fans to keep heat from away from it. Perhaps the International Cocoa Organization will be able to help you with more details. Here is their website: https://www.icco.org/. Good luck to you on your studies!
Hello, I’m making 73% raw organic chocolates and I use cold pressed essential oils extracts in them, and some of them contains nuts too. What would be their shelf life?
Thank you
I ‘ve made a low carb chocolate for keto dieters containing coconut oil, bakers chocolate(for now I’m planning to switch to cacao butter and powder) and a monk fruit blend as a sugar replacement and lecithin emulsifier would any of this affect the shelf of the end product? Also any ideas on how to determine the actual carb count? I’m confused by the packaging label on the monk fruit because it says 4 grams of carbs per tsp but 0 glycemic index
Dark Compound Chocolate is often used in further cooking or processing. What is the expected shelf life from your experience with this type of product?
Can you tell me about the shelf life of white chocolate?
Hi Jody,
FDA standards of identity say that white chocolate must contain cocoa
butter. If the white chocolate in question is indeed made with cocoa
butter, and the white chocolate has a slight yellow tinge to it (meaning
the cocoa butter was not stipped of its natural color and Vitamin E
properties), then the shelf life will probably be 3-4 months. If the white
chocolate is made with cocoa butter but looks really white, then the shelf
life is probably 1-2 months.
If the white chocolate in question is really a white confectionery coating
made with a vegetable oil other than cocoa butter, the shelf life will
vary depending on the melt point and type of oil used. Most likely, the
shelf life will be about 4 – 5 months, and possibly 6 months.