Keep Your Chocolate Cool, This Summer
Top tips to help you enjoy luxury chocolate at its best this Summer, with our handy chocolate storage guide.
With Europe in the grip of a heat-wave and the weather forecast predicting rising temperatures in the UK, there's no reason why you can't still enjoy a delicious chocolate bar or chocolate selection box.
Even baking and decorating with chocolate is perfectly possible and our handy chocolate storage tips are here to help you.
Keep Cool & Eat Chocolate.
Store your chocolate in a cool, dark place until you're ready to eat it. A dark cupboard out of the sunlight or better still, a pantry, are ideal.
To avoid the chocolate surface blooming (a white powdery / stained surface) which is a reaction of the sugar to moisture, store the chocolate in a sealed tin or other dark container.
Generally, fridges are too cold and the atmosphere too moist for chocolate, but if your only storage option is a fridge, keeping the chocolate wrapped, in a sealed tub or bag, that doesn't collect moisture, should help avoid it blooming.
Wear Sunscreen.
Whilst we may enjoy temperatures of 20 degrees plus (don't forget to apply sun-cream protection), chocolate does not. The ideal temperature to store chocolate is around 14 to 18 degrees C. For eating, try bringing the chocolate out of its cold storage, and let it warm (up to 21 degrees), so that the full cocoa flavours and flavour profile are released when you eat it. A bit like letting wine breathe.
Tainted Love.
Remember the story of the cruise ship who's scrambled eggs tasted of washing powder, because the raw eggs had been stored next to the detergent in the ships hold, tainting the whole supply? Chocolate is also susceptible to picking up strong odours during storage as well.
Herbs & spices, coffee, garlic and yes even washing powders are everyday culprits so make sure if you're storing your chocolate, to keep them well away from any strong odours.
Summer Packin'
If you're expecting a chocolate delivery, be careful when choosing a safe place for the delivery person to leave your chocolate in. Windowed porches, conservatory's and greenhouses get warm very quickly. Equally, remember the sun moves across the sky during the day so a shady spot when you leave may be in full sunshine later on.
During warm weather, we 'Summer Pack' all our chocolate deliveries. This means we use larger than usual outer packing boxes and generous amounts of our 100% bio-degradable loose filler (white wotsit's) which has great insulating & protection properties. On some occasions, it may also be necessary to apply a lining or lid of sheet polystyrene as well.
We try to avoid the use of non-recyclable materials as much as possible, and our chocolate deliveries usually arrive in perfect condition - even delicate chocolate decorations, when they've been left in the Sun! Of course, we recommend checking your order as soon as it arrives, and please notify us if anything's amiss. You may want to consider speeding up your delivery by choosing a next day delivery option, to lessen the time it's being kept in hot sorting offices, mail depots or delivery vans.
Have a wonderful Summer. Enjoy the sunshine safely and enjoy your favourite luxury chocolates with our handy storage tips.
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