How many times has it happened to us: we go to the pantry to grab a piece of chocolate to eat or to make a dessert and horror! Our chocolate has turned white! Here comes the question, will it still be good? Can it be used to eat or make a dessert, or will it end up in the trash?
Today we are going to tell you the why of this phenomenon, what it is due to and most importantly, whether or not that chocolate is still edible.
Chocolate is a product of long storagealmost always around 24 months from the date of manufacture, but it is also a very sensitive to humidity and odours, extremely delicate, like good coffee or eggs.
The phenomenon by which chocolate turns white has its simple explanation, related to the very composition of chocolate and storage problems. Let’s remember that is a typical emulsion where the non-fat components are distributed in the continuous phase of the fat. Basically, the cocoa solids and sugar are dispersed in the cocoa butter. When this balance is disturbed, problems appear.
Scientifically there are two events that will involve the chocolate turning white, the first is called fat bloom or fat whitening, and the second is the sugar bloom or sugar whitening.
The fat bloom Happens when the fat comes out to the surface due to changes in temperature. What happens is that part of the chocolate fat melts inside the product.
When the chocolate cools again, that fat does not find space inside to crystallize again and escapes through the walls of the product until it reaches the surface. appears then a grayish layer that if we put our finger on it, it would melt and disappear.
The sugar bloomfor its part, occurs when the sugar rises to the surface of the chocolate due to condensation or due to dragging by the interior humidity.
It is typical to see chocolates due to an excess of water in the filling of the interior of these. What this condensation water does is melt part of the sugars in the chocolate, once the water evaporates, the sugar crystallizes on the surface, noticing a texture grainy if we pass the finger.
So then we see how there are several causes of chocolate whitening: contact with air, humidity or sudden changes in temperature.
Does it affect the quality of the chocolate? Is it still in good condition?
Do not panic, the chocolate that has suffered any of these phenomena is still in good condition, and organoleptically speaking it will only affect the aromasince the migrations of fat to the surface will sequester the molecules that provide aroma to the chocolate.
To avoid this, we will keep the chocolate in a place that is between 16 and 18º C and an average relative humiditypreferably constant.
We will store our chocolate well protected in an airtight containerand not simply covered with something that allows air to penetrate inside.
We will avoid sudden changes in temperatureas in the case of putting it in the refrigerator for a while and then bringing it to room temperature.
With these three premises we will largely prevent our chocolate from turning white, but if it has still happened to us, it will suffice to melt the chocolate again to recrystallize all its components.
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