Preserving a vital resource

July 21, 2010 8:15 PM

Is there any way to save an old, dried out chocolate bar?

You know the story: you open up a bar of chocolate and it's whitish, dry, and tastes chalky.

Can anything be done to restore the chocolate to its former glory?

I recognize that the best answer may be to just buy another bar, but I'm curious if there are any fixes out there.


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Bonus points: what's actually happening to the chocolate in the first place to make it white, dry, and strange? Something to do with heat?

posted by Suciu to Food & Drink (7 answers total)

Best answer: The white coating is chocolate bloom.
posted by hot soup girl at 8:18 PM on July 21, 2010

Best answer: My understanding is that the chocolate has lost its tempering. I believe you can re-temper it by reheating it and cooling it per the instructions.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 8:20 PM on July 21, 2010

Best answer: Melt it down and add milk (not skim, not soy). Stir until it becomes thick.
posted by msk1985 at 9:36 PM on July 21, 2010

Best answer: I want to say the white stuff is cocoa butter. I think what you're seeing is the cocoa butter and the rest of the chocolate separating. the chocolate should still be good. Just use a double boiler, melt it down, and let it cool properly following admiral haddock's linked instructions. Be careful though: I added water by accident once (dropped it in the boiler) and my chocolate became all lumpy and hard.
posted by milkofstars at 10:08 PM on July 21, 2010

Response by poster: I'll give this a try and report back. Thanks for your help!
posted by Suciu at 11:04 PM on July 21, 2010

If this chocolate means this much to you for some reason, I would recommend practicing on less important chocolate first... tempering is tricky!
Obviously you'd also need some kind of mold to turn it back into bar form. Or you could coat some strawberries...
posted by Morbuto at 3:22 AM on July 22, 2010

Just eat it.
posted by fivesavagepalms at 10:14 AM on July 22, 2010 [3 favorites]