How to store chocolate in the refrigerator at home, conditions and rules

Often a person does not think about how to properly store food. When buying chocolate, it seems to them that they need to put it in a cold place, then it will remain fresh and of high quality for a long time. But you have to know if the chocolate can be kept for a long time in the refrigerator, if it will deteriorate.

Features of storing chocolate at home

So that the taste of chocolate does not change and the components of the product do not crumble, it must be protected from the action:

• low and high temperatures;
• high humidity;
• direct sunlight;
• oxygen.

It is not for nothing that chocolate is packaged in packaging that protects it from external influences. The foil, in which the tiles are wrapped, is necessary to prevent the penetration of oxygen, and also successfully reflects the sun's rays. But when you open the package, the chocolate becomes vulnerable.Therefore, it must be kept closed at all times.

Optimal storage conditions

Knowing the peculiarities of storing chocolate, they create the necessary conditions for this. After all, sometimes you have to keep soft tiles in the closet for a long time, and that's not always right.

Temperature

The benefits of eating chocolate will be when it has a clean surface without grease stains and smudges. Tiles are best stored at temperatures of 14 to 18 degrees Celsius. If the room is already above 30 degrees, the cocoa butter in the bar will begin to melt.

But the product also deteriorates when the temperature drops below minus 2.

Humidity

A large amount of moisture in the air has a negative effect on the taste and appearance of the cocoa product. When the humidity percentage reaches 80-90%, you should not be surprised that a film similar to frost appears on top. Its appearance is associated with the oxidation of cocoa butter, which is the basis of sweetness.

Lighting

As a noble and pampered product, chocolate does not tolerate sunlight. It prefers dark places. Then the quality of the tiles does not change.

Why does chocolate turn gray

Distinguish between sugar and fat flower on a candy bar. The surface of the tile is covered with water droplets after it has changed from cold to hot. The steam condensate serves as a solvent for the sugar in the candy. After the bar dries, the crystals remain as white specks on the surface of the chocolate.

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The product suffers from fat proliferation due to improper storage, sudden temperature fluctuations during storage.Melting in the heat, the triglycerides in cocoa butter, when slowly cooled, take the form of large crystals of a grayish hue. In the composition of chocolate there are modifications of cocoa butter, which have different melting points. Therefore, the graying of the confection occurs. This factor does not affect the nutritional and biological value, but the presentation of the chocolate bar deteriorates.

But if the "gray" chocolate tastes rancid, it means that the shelf life of the product has expired. Then you cannot use it.

What factors affect shelf life

It is known that various additives are used in the manufacture of chocolate. There is a special preservative E-200, which increases the shelf life of sweetness. The best choice would be the sweet, where a shelf life of 6 months is indicated. If more, then there is a lot of foreign fat in the product. But the shelf life of chocolate can be longer than the shelf life if it is of good quality. When there is a lot of fat in the product, the shelf life is reduced.

See

The color and taste, long-term storage of the chocolate bar depends on the amount of cocoa beans in it. If there are few or none, then you need to eat the dessert faster. Therefore, chocolate can be used:

• bitter - more than a year;
• dark, where powdered sugar is added - 12 months;
• milky and porous - 6 months;
• white, based on cocoa butter, vanillin, milk powder, - one month.

A synthetic substitute for chocolate, candy bars, should be consumed immediately, after 14 days it will be harmful.

Additives and fillers

Pieces of fruit, nuts, cookies, candied fruits are added to all types of chocolate. Desserts should not be stored for more than 3 months.Powdered milk additives affect the timing by shortening it. Bars with small pieces of fruit are stored for 3-4 months, large ones - a little less.

The composition of the filling

Lovers of dessert-type chocolates with puffed rice, puffed rice, dried fruit should know that the product does not keep for long. Shelf life is reduced depending on the consistency of the filling. With hard you can keep 2-3 months, soft - a month. With a rum filling, the alcohol aroma will disappear after 2 months.

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How long can you keep in the fridge

Experts generally say that chocolate should not be placed in the refrigerator. After the heat in the cold, changes in the structure of the product will begin. A grayish bloom will certainly be present if you remove the tile from the cold. It is better to put a tightly closed chocolate bar on the bottom shelf or put it in a doorway where the temperature does not drop below + 2 degrees. In the summer heat, chocolate can only be stored in the refrigerator. In winter, it will also not melt indoors.

When opened, tiles should not be put in the refrigerator, otherwise they will be saturated with the smell of other products.

How to properly store gift chocolate

Sometimes you have to leave packages with gift chocolate products for storage. To prevent the miniatures from melting in the box, you need:

• put a gift on the floor;
• store in a dark, cool place where direct sunlight does not penetrate;
• leave in the cupboard if the room temperature is between 17 and 20 degrees Celsius.

Gifts ordered from authors of chocolate desserts cannot be kept for more than 30 days.This is an element to take into account when preparing an original tribute to the hero of the day.

How to properly freeze tiles in the freezer

When you need to keep the chocolate bar for a long time, you should use the freezer for that. But you should know that:

• frozen quickly at a temperature of 18 degrees below zero;
• subscribed only once if necessary;
• the chocolate will keep for several years.

It is possible to exclude the appearance of grayness on the tiles if you freeze the cocoa dessert correctly.

How to determine the freshness of a product

There are several ways to determine the quality of a candy bar:

1. When unrolled, wrappers will see a smooth, even tone with no stains or damage.
2. When the product is stored without observing the rules, cracks, whitish bloom and grease stains are visible. Sometimes the grayness of the surface is a symptom of the old age of the product.
3. When breaking, a crackle is heard in the high-quality chocolate. The tile either bends like plasticine or crumbles - it is better to refuse such a poor-quality and harmful dessert.
4. In the hand, a real chocolate bar will quickly melt, and a piece thrown in milk will drown.
5. The sea bass should not smell of coffee, vanilla or cinnamon. Due to the property of absorbing foreign odors, the aromas of neighboring spices emanate from the cocoa product.

When buying chocolate in a store, be sure to study the packaging, which indicates the composition of the bar, its shelf life.

Features of storing chocolates

For long-term storage of glazed chocolates, they choose dark chocolate ones with a hard filling. If among the components of sweets there is cream or powdered milk, then the sweets will deteriorate in 3-4 months.And with puffed or whipped proteins - after 2.

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Melted candies brought home should be stored at room temperature. Once hardened, they can be placed in an airtight container in the refrigerator. After the candy is taken out of the cold place, give it a chance to warm up. Only then do they unfold it and enjoy the dessert. Remember that chocolate products absorb strong odors. You can not keep them in a cupboard next to spices, in the refrigerator - with smoked meats.

Common Mistakes

Many people believe that grated cocoa beans can be stored indefinitely. Yes, they protect the product from damage, but after a year and a half the chocolates will begin to taste bitter, mold will appear. Still, fresh tiles are healthier for humans. If sweets covered with a whitish coating can be eaten, then those covered with mold cannot. Trying to clean up stale and spoiled chocolate, they try to include it in the menu. But it is dangerous, it is very easy to poison yourself with such a dessert.

But you shouldn't throw away the melted chocolate. It can be used to make icing for decorating cakes, pastries, cookies. Pour the tempered mixture into pieces of fruit, nuts, candied fruit. It is advisable to add pieces melted in a water bath to coffee. You can use a microwave to heat the tiles. There, the product components will not come into contact with water.

Additional tips and tricks

When choosing a chocolate, you have to rely on what's in the bar. The high-quality bar consists of grated cocoa beans, cocoa butter, powdered sugar and lecithin.When other vegetable oils are contained, such as soybean, palm, cottonseed or sunflower oil, the sweetness will taste completely different.

Although the natural chocolate bar quickly melts in the heat, it will bring more benefits than analogues. The product with cocoa powder, which is obtained from the marc of beans, is not considered useful. If you store chocolate in a kitchen cupboard, it must be protected from odors. Even when smoking, the dessert will smell of tobacco.

Mice and insects are dangerous for sweets. It is necessary to free the premises from rodents, which can infect a person with serious illnesses with chocolate. They damage chocolate and moth caterpillars. These tiles should be discarded immediately, as poor quality cocoa beans were used in their manufacture.