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CHOCOLATE PRESERVATION: WHAT IS THE PERFECT TEMPERATURE?
Did you know that your chocolate requires special storage conditions to remain tasty? No matter what form it takes: raw or in preparation, your artisanal chocolate must be kept in a healthy place to preserve its properties that make it so delicious. In this article, we give you all our advice on the best ways to store your chocolate.
Why is it important to store your chocolate properly?
In order to keep its unique taste, artisanal chocolate is a product that must be preserved in optimal conditions. It is therefore important to take great care to ensure that it retains its tasty properties, whether it is in bars, powder, filled or in the form of a preparation (cake, pastry, mousse, etc.). At Fauchon, chocolate is first and foremost a food of choice and pleasure, considered to be the quintessential gourmet treat. All occasions are good to offer or to be offered chocolate: it would be a pity not to be able to taste it correctly by spoiling its conservation.
First of all, we must distinguish dark chocolate from milk chocolate and white chocolate: as they do not have the same cocoa content, they do not have the same shelf life. Dark chocolate is richer in cocoa and will keep longer than the others. Generally speaking, the darker the chocolate, the longer its shelf life. It should be noted that it can be consumed even several months after its use-by date (DLUO).
As regards filled confectionery and festive chocolates, you must be more vigilant about their conservation. As they contain ingredients that make them perishable (water, cream milk, etc.), they should be consumed within a fortnight.
Keeping your chocolate in the fridge: a bad idea?
Keeping chocolate in the fridge seems to be the perfect solution to prevent it from melting. However, this is a preconceived idea: in fact, the ideal temperature for storing chocolate is between 14 and 18°C, while the temperature of the fridge does not exceed 7°C.
When chocolate is placed in the refrigerator, it whitens due to the mixture of humidity and cold: the cocoa butter molecules freeze and become visible.
This whitening distorts the taste qualities of the chocolate and causes it to lose its aroma and flavour. But don't worry: this is not a health hazard. So avoid the refrigerator for your chocolate bars. However, if there is a heatwave, you can make an exception, but make sure you eat your chocolate quickly!
On the other hand, if you want to store pastries, sweets and chocolate preparations, you will not treat them in the same way as pure chocolate. Mousses, cakes, ganaches, eclairs, truffles... As long as your chocolate dishes contain eggs, milk, butter or cream, putting them in the fridge is a good solution.
The perfect storage conditions for your chocolate
As you will have understood, to preserve chocolate perfectly and enjoy it in the best possible way, it must be kept in an ambient climate, avoiding humidity, cold, heat and light. The best place to store it is in a cool, dry place, away from light. Also remember to wrap your chocolate well: aluminium, an airtight box or cling film will do the trick to ensure that your chocolate retains all its flavour and is protected from surrounding odours, mould and germs.
Alternatively, if you are lucky enough to have a wine cellar, it is a perfect solution for storing your chocolate! The temperature and humidity levels are optimal for your chocolate. The wine cellar is neither too hot nor too cold, making it the ideal place to store your chocolate.
Discover our selection of the best dark chocolate
Would you like to offer your gourmet friends some artisanal chocolate and be sure that it will keep for as long as possible? Or do you simply want to treat yourself? Choose a dark chocolate with a high cocoa content to ensure that the taste lasts throughout your tasting experience, even if it lasts several months. So, you can opt for our selection of Fauchon dark chocolate bars and awaken your gourmet palate.
For an intense and characterful aroma, we suggest our dark chocolate bar made from 100% cocoa from Madagascar. This bar is ideal for a gourmet break.
You can also opt for a dark chocolate bar made with 70% cocoa from Venezuela. Enhanced by fine salt crystals, the flavour of this bar will not be forgotten by the most demanding taste buds.
For very natural notes of earth and leather, Fauchon also presents its dark chocolate bar made with 70% cocoa from Papua: its exquisite taste will seduce chocolate lovers.
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