Food Storage: The Actual Shelf Life of Chocolate and Cocoa Powder

I have to admit that I am highly addicted to chocolate. And since I have no desire to get that addiction under control, it only makes sense to make sure that I have a healthy supply of chocolate on hand.

In this video, we will talk about the best ways to store chocolate to extend the quality of shelf life.

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Packaging Dry Foods in Plastic Bottles for Long Term Food Storage
Packaging Dry Foods in Glass Jars for Long Term Food Storage
How to Package Dry Foods in Mylar Bags for Long Term Storage
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[kennethmoravec]

I have 65 lbs. of chocolate stored that are in 10 lb. Increments. Each of the 10 lbs. is 32 years old, 26 years, 19 years 12 years, and 5 and 4 years respectively. There was a lot more but every once in a while I take a bit from each year to see if it has gone bad and so far to date none of it has . . .yet.

[jkco]

Hands down best family preparedness channel. Appreciate learning from you guys! 🙏❤

[marcb]

There is nothing better than a friend unless it is a friend with CHOCOLATE.

[DeliriArt]

Nothing to do with preparedness, but that man looks at you with so much admiration when you're describing things. So sweet!

[virgildailey]

We ate chocolate that came in C rations from the Korean War era back in the 80’s. It was wrapped in a paper wrapper inside the C rats kit. The milk chocolate had a whitish looking haze on the outside. It smelled and tasted okay, didn’t make us sick. Some of the C rats kits had a date going back to 1948.

[jebradley]

Awesome video! I had no idea that cocoa powder had an indefinite shelf life. Yay! And after a month of always hearing bad news, it's great to know that it's safe to vacuum seal my chocolate chips!

[Therealjoshuaparker]

This, like all your videos is so well done. As a chocolate maker I intentionally age chocolate to develop flavor. The oldest chocolate I’ve had was an 8 year old chocolate bar I had on display. It was packaged in a cello package so moisture was not able to attack the chocolate.

Sugar bloom, causes gritty chocolate and dose affect mouthfeel but the chocolate isn’t bad per say. Remelt the chocolate and bake with it or if you know how to hand temper that will remove any kind of bloom.

Fat bloom happens if moisture has settled on the chocolate surface causing the cocoa butter to come to the surface in an uneven manner. Again, it’s safe to eat and won’t affect flavor but it might affect mouth feel.

[steve]

My wife overheard me listening to the video and she asked "why would you ever store chocolate? If it lasts more than a week long around here something is really wrong". Just wanted to share. She has a point! 😀

[danellefrost]

I really do love your videos.❤️ You are a joy to watch. And as far as this particular video goes, I do believe that it is the first time that I have ever seen this very important food group addressed with regards to prepping!😊

[coffeefirstthenspeak]

I have been stocking up on cocoa powder, a world without chocolate or coffee is a world I dont want to live in :) Thank you for this video. I had researched cocoa powder, but good to know I can do ready made chocolate for a decent amount of time!!

[deejones]

Yay!!! You just made my year! Waiting for the Easter candy sales and I'm stocking up. I'll take the 12-18 months and jar seal my chocolate chips for longer!!! Thank you Thank You Thank you, from one addict to another!😁♥️

[heatheraz]

Currently I only have a few bags in the pantry and a mason jar full in the cabinet. Sounds like I need to get more and stash it!! Good to know the shelf life is really a little longer then what the package says.

[ssm]

This is the most important video out of all your videos! 😋🤪

[Indiskret]

I store most chocolate vacuum packed, in the freezer. With that said, I found a chocolate that is near magical in its storage capabilities even without any extra measures. I got a hold of a large amount of out of date so called "healthy" dark chocolate, made in Germany and with Cocoa, xylitol as the only sweetener, lecitine and vanilla. 75% cocoa content. They had BBD in 2020, and despite not doing anything about them because I forgot, they still taste like new. No off flavours, no rancidity, not even a hint of whitening of the surface. I don't know if it's the xylitol (birch sugars) or just the high quality of the product, but they are like new still. Not even packed in a metal foil, just a clear PE-HD sealed wrapping.
Thanks for a great channel, will watch the whole video now! :D

[jbeachbob]

Just recently discovered this amazing channel a few months ago.
Most of my adult career has been in the laboratory or medicine. Do I have any knowledge in food safety? Not a clue. Besides entertaining and great general food safety knowledge for a non Prepper, you have created a a superb comprehensive reference library. Great ideas and tips and you have been immensely helpful. Thank you

[karensinclair]

We are preppers and we are ahead of the curve on storing chocolate. Mainly for bartering we can't eat it ourselves. We love your program

[samantaburgin]

In Trinidad we also have the chocolate cocoa in blocks and also in a hard ball that we grate whenever needed and I usually store it in a plastic jar tightly covered, in the freezer or in a glass jar and I have had it for 4yrs now in the fridge and out in my pantry and so far it's really good.

[motherofheelers]

I’ve been waiting for this critical piece of info!

[sandys.]

I altered how I was storing my chocolate thanks to you. I'm following your advice plus I focused more on cocoa powder. I can make all the delicious chocolate desserts I want but I have to have cocoa powder first. So I'm buying the cocoa powder in 2.2 lb bags. Nothing says love like Callebaut chocolate products.

[larrybair]

I vacuum seal miniature candy bars, m&m’s, Hershey Kisses, Reese’s peanut butter cups, almond joys, kit-kat, Dove, hard suck candy etc off all kinds in Mason jars. I buy seasonal Christmas, Easter, & year around favorites of our 12 grandchildren . When these occasions come I’m ready to make candy gift bags plus have on my buffet cupboard in candy jars for anytime treats . It’s been a way of taking advantage of sales & save money as prices have gone up ….linda