What is Chocolate “Bloom”?
We’ve all had it happen. We open up a piece of chocolate, excited for the sweet joy that is awaiting us, come to find that there is a hazy white coating on our beloved candy. What is this coating? Did your chocolate “go bad”? Can you still eat it, cook with it? This is called chocolate bloom. Although bloomed chocolate is still safe to eat, it does pose some problems.
Bloom: the plague of the chocolate world. It’s unsightly and can even affect the way chocolate tastes. But what it is exactly? And how can you prevent it?
This whitish coating is considered one of the main concerns in the production of chocolate. There are two types of bloom: fat bloom and sugar bloom. But essentially, bloom occurs when chocolate is not cooked properly.
Fat Chocolate Bloom
Fat bloom, the most common type of bloom, is typically caused when chocolate is exposed to high temperatures and allowed to reset improperly. For example, have you ever had a piece of chocolate melt in the car, and once it has cooled tried to eat it? That white coating is bloom! The cocoa butter inside your chocolate melts and separates from the rest of the ingredients when it is in a warm environment that is not properly managed. As a result, it then rises to the surface and settles, thus creating the off-white bloom.
Sugar Chocolate Bloom
On the other hand, an excess of moisture causes sugar bloom. This excess causes the sugar in the chocolate to crystalize, creating a speckled appearance on the surface of the chocolate.
Ultimately, bloom doesn’t really harm the favor or shelf life of your chocolate, and you can still eat it and cook with it, but it is unsightly. Overall, the best way to avoid both types of bloom is to store your chocolate in a consistently cool, dry place.
At the end of the day, you can rely on Asher’s Chocolate Co. to make chocolate of the highest quality. We go through a strenuous and detailed process to ensure that our products are tasty and chocolate bloom-free! To get all of your favorites, give us a call at 855-8-ASHERS, or visit us online!