The Well-Tempered Chocolatier

Chocolate in the summer

May 16, 2009 · 2 Comments

Summer in the city is a beautiful thing. Sunglasses, patios, pitchers of sangria…who doesn’t love a beautiful summer day?

Photo credit: hapal (Flickr)

Photo credit: hapal (Flickr)

Well, chocolate, for one. You’re best to store chocolate between 12-20 degrees Celsius. Most of the year, you can keep it at room temperature – but in the summer, the mercury tends to climb above 20 degrees and you get a melty mess. It’s not like the chocolate goes bad - it just gets a little squishy.

When the weather is cool, I leave chocolate bars at room temperature. Right now, I have a stack of them on a bookshelf, waiting to be reviewed. When it gets warmer, I’ll put them in a zip-top bag and put them in the fridge. Chocolate bars, if tempered properly, should be shelf-stable for 6-12 months. Having said that, the flavours and aromas degrade with time, so if you have a really delicate chocolate, don’t hoard it.   

Chocolate truffles, on the other hand, have cream and other perishable ingredients in them. They really should be consumed within 2-3 weeks for optimal flavour, but you can extend their shelf life by keeping them in the refrigerator in tightly sealed containers. Leave them at room temperature, in the sealed container, for about 20 minutes before you eat them. This allows all the ingredients to warm up to room temperature so that you get a better tasting experience.

Categories: Food science
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