Storing your chocolate properly before and after use will ensure the longest possible shelf-life and that nothing goes wrong. Here are some tips:
- Always store chocolate in a dry and dark place.
- Store at a temperature of 12°C to 20°C with a humidity level of less than 50% (for best result)
- Don't store chocolate near anything with a strong smell. Chocolate absorbs odors very easily.
- Store your product 4" off of the floor and 4" away from the walls to allow proper circulation of air around the chocolate products.
Look for the "Use By" date on the bottom of your chocolate. Observe this date for ultimate freshness, but the chocolate will still be fine for a short time after that date.
Because of condensation, only refrigerate your chocolate if your kitchen (or wherever you keep your chocolate) ever goes above 21°C and/or the humidity goes above 50%.
To safely refrigerate,
- Tightly wrap the chocolate in waxed or parchment paper
- Wrap it in a dry towel to serve as an insulator.
- Seal in an air-tight container.
EXCEPTION:
If you have made a product that has something else in the product that is very perishable and requires refrigeration,
- tightly seal the container and have as low of humidity as possible in the refrigerator.
- You can put paper towels and small plates of baking soda in the fridge to help absorb some moisture.
- Be prepared for condensation on the chocolate. When you take the chocolate out of the refrigerator, do not open the container immediately. Bring sealed container to room temperature first to help avoid as much shock in temperature.
Give chocolate the time to acclimatize from its storing temperature to room temperature. Wonder Why? The best temperature to consume chocolate is from 17°C to 21°C. The chocolate will have a snap to it and will fully release the flavor and aroma.
Always avoid temperature shocks of more than 10°C. Wonder Why?
- If you put warm chocolate (such as dipped items or molded chocolate) in the freezer, you can get thermal shock and the chocolate will crack.
- If you bring chocolate out of the freezer or refrigerator and the room is too warm, you may get a white sheen on your chocolate. The white sheen won't change the taste of the chocolate, but it won't look as good!
info adapted from
http://www.chocoley.com/resources/how-to-store-chocolate