The deal breaker questions… Pineapple on pizza? Sweet or salted popcorn? A blob of sauce on the side or squirted all over? Store chocolate in or out of the fridge? In this post, we’ll take on the latter and explain how to store your precious stash properly. 

Think of it like this… On a cold winter’s evening, we love to curl up and enjoy a steaming bowl of soup. Whereas, on a blazing day in the summer, we’d much rather be down the beach devouring a cold ice cream. Some foods are best served piping hot whilst others are cool and hence, refreshing. Chocolate is extremely versatile; we love it melted, as a drink and in desserts. Hot, cold, it tastes incredible. However, a timeless, classic box, block or bar of chocolate is at its finest at room temperature, neither too hot nor too cold.  You want that snap, a slight smudge on your fingers. It’s not squidgy nor solid, it’s that perfect in-between. That soft and subtle breaking sound as you take a bite, followed by sweet velvety softness. 

When placed in the fridge as when melted, the taste and texture of the chocolate are altered. It becomes harder, heavier and duller. The smoothness is compromised and the cold temperatures mess with the rich balance of flavours. Worst of all, you’re subjecting your sweet treat to the ‘sugar bloom.’ This spoiling process occurs when your chocolate is exposed to temperature and humidity fluctuations.  Every time you open your fridge door and a blast of the warmer air enters in or as you pull out the bar to sneak a piece and replace it on that shelf, you’re stabbing a moisture ladened dagger into your heavenly indulgence. The result is calamitous, condensed and recrystallised sugar that leaves the surface of your chocolate white and grainy. That sumptuous brown, shiny finish forever tarnished. 

What’s more, chocolate has an odour absorbing ability. This means that if left in the fridge it could end up infused with last night’s dinner. Although chilli con carne goes rather nicely with chocolate, tomorrow’s seafood salad lunch certainly doesn’t nor does that tin of beans we’ve been meaning to throw out. The optimal conditions for this superior snack are a cool, dry cupboard or pantry. Ideally, in temperatures between 15-20 degrees. Appropriate treat companions include biscuits, cereal or dried fruit bars and cookies. Basically, life is stressful and we all deserve a ‘sweet cupboard.’ 

There is, of course, a slight catch. The summer months. An Australian summer can be particularly warm and with temperatures exceeding 30 degrees. The melting point of real, good quality chocolate is around 30-32 degrees… So, are we to be deprived an entire summer without the delights of chocolate like some unrelenting lent period?! …

Fear, not chocoholics, there are some solutions…

  • The fridge- although this point essentially crushes the entire premise of this post, if temperatures surpass 28 degrees you may have to resort to the fridge. If you do so, make sure you seal it in an airtight container. Then, allow it to warm to room temperature again before consuming. 
  • Get a frozen fix- a flake in a soft-serve cone, a Maxibon, chocolate-covered strawberries -there are many ways to eat chocolate in the summer. 
  • Fresh to go - why not drop by our shop for some gorgeous, Australian, handmade chocolates? A real summer treat that you can enjoy on the spot. 

The long and short of it is that, for food to taste its best it needs to be stored in its optimum conditions.  We think you deserve top quality chocolate in Australia, so be sure to source out that cool, dry place to keep it and avoid the fridge!