Whether or not you’re snacking on a high quality chocolate bar or baking an indulgent dessert, you could be alarmed to seek out white, chalky streaks or a gritty coating on the floor of your chocolate. This phenomenon is named chocolate bloom, and whereas it doesn’t pose a security hazard, it’s not visually interesting — neither is it notably appetizing.

“Chocolate bloom is suitable for eating so long as the chocolate isn’t spoiled, however it impacts texture and look,” says Susanna Yoon, founder and chocolatier at Stick With Me Sweets in New York Metropolis and Seoul. “Personally, I might select to not eat it.”

Learn on for insights from two chocolatiers about precisely what chocolate bloom is, why it occurs, and one of the best ways to stop it.

The kinds of chocolate bloom

Fats bloom

First off, it’s essential to differentiate between two kinds of bloom. “Fats bloom seems as a easy, streaky, whitish or grey coating on the floor and is attributable to cocoa butter migrating and recrystallizing” as a result of warmth or temperature modifications, explains Yoon.

“When chocolate is warmed as much as the purpose that cocoa butter melts, the tendency is for the fats to separate and reform on the floor,” provides Stephen Durfee, director of curriculum at Dandelion Chocolate in San Francisco. Durfee notes that this temperature threshold is decrease than you could suppose — leaving chocolate in a backpack on a temperate day, as an illustration, could also be sufficient to trigger bloom.

One other potential wrongdoer of bloom is improper tempering, says Yoon. Nevertheless, “even well-tempered chocolate can develop bloom over time whether it is saved improperly or uncovered to fluctuating temperatures,” she warns.

Sugar bloom

In distinction, “sugar bloom seems to be grainy and tough, with bigger whitish crystals, and is attributable to moisture dissolving sugar on the floor and permitting it to recrystallize because the moisture evaporates,” in keeping with Yoon. Durfee provides that sugar bloom “can happen if chocolate goes from very chilly to heat environments quickly, which results in condensation forming on the floor” — suppose pulling chocolate from a fridge or freezer — or if the chocolate is saved in a moist setting.  

Each kinds of bloom can occur without delay. “To call a selected circumstance, I might say leaving chocolate in a automobile on a sizzling, humid day, the place warmth and moisture can mix to partially soften after which resolidify, triggering each fats and sugar bloom,” says Yoon.  

Is chocolate bloom suitable for eating?

Excellent news: Bloomed, non-spoiled chocolate is completely protected to eat. “Chocolate bloom is absolutely not a giant deal — though the looks of the chocolate is compromised, the product remains to be usable and completely protected,” says Durfee.

Even so, bloom can degrade the general high quality of chocolate and make it much less pleasant to eat. “With fats bloom, the chocolate can style softer, muted in taste, and typically greasy, and it loses the great snap you count on from well-tempered chocolate,” explains Yoon. “It additionally impacts look, making the chocolate look uninteresting slightly than shiny.” 

Sugar bloom is commonly even worse, in her opinion. “Due to the massive, recrystallized sugar crystals, the feel turns into grainy and chalky, which makes the chocolate disagreeable to eat and never very palatable.”

The right way to stop chocolate bloom

Specialists say correct storage is important — meaning protecting your chocolate out of the fridge and away from the windowsill. 

 “The easiest way to stop bloom is to retailer the chocolate correctly within the first place — in a cool spot, ideally away from direct mild, and never with smelly stuff,” emphasizes Durfee. It’s not too completely different from the storage protocol for wine, in keeping with Yoon. “Retailer it at round 55°F, with low humidity and minimal temperature fluctuations,” she instructs. 

What ought to I do with bloomed chocolate?

Should you’d slightly not eat dusty, splotchy chocolate, there are methods to reverse (or reuse) it. “If you’re adventurous sufficient, bloom will be reversed by melting and correctly retempering the chocolate,” says Yoon.

If that additional step feels daunting, merely reserve it to your subsequent baking mission. “Repurpose bloomed chocolate for baking, equivalent to cookies or brownies, the place look and snap are much less essential,” she suggests.