I treated myself to a Cluizel 72% Noir last week purchased from a local wine shop. I left it on the kitchen worktop until himself got home at the weekend. When we opened it, to my horror, I saw that the whole bar was covered in grey speckles/dots. I knew immediately that it was chocolate bloom. Some sources say that it’s nothing to worry about, the chocolate might not look nice, but it ’should’ still taste OK.
Not so, as himself was quick to point out. My taste buds said the same and we were backed up by Discover Chocolate. It had a damp blunt snap and dry gritty melt. I think the bloom was my fault because I did not store it correctly and the moisture/humidity in the kitchen affected it.
So what is chocolate bloom? There are two types, both look similar and both are caused by incorrect storage:
Cocoa butter (fat) bloom leaves white/grey powdery coating on the chocolate. In hot or too humid conditions the chocolate starts to ‘melt’ causing the cocoa butter to separate from the chocolate and rise to the surface.
Sugar bloom leaves white/grey irregular streaks on the chocolate. It is caused by moisture condensing on the chocolate drawing the sugar particles to the surface. The moisture evaporates and the sugar crystals remain on the surface. It makes for a dry gritty melt and sticky feel. This can happen if you store chocolate in damp conditions or in the fridge (which causes it to sweat).
Note to self: put the chocolate in the chocolate box in future.
