BUCKHORN CLIFFSA preparedness field manual

Food · Supply

Chocolate

How long dark, milk and white chocolate and cocoa keep, what the white bloom means, how to store chocolate through a hot summer, how to tell it has turned, and the case for cocoa powder.

DARK 4-5 YRBLOOM IS SAFECOCOA FOREVERWorks without power

Quick facts

  • Dark chocolateLabel 2 years; real 4 to 5
  • Milk and white chocolateAbout a year; the milk fat turns
  • Cocoa powderIndefinite sealed; a year opened at full flavor
  • Watch forAn off or rancid smell, mold; bloom is safe

Where this sits on the food shopping list

Chocolate is sugar and fat with almost no water in it, which is why it keeps for years and why the thing that happens to it in storage, the white or gray film called bloom, is cosmetic. Dark chocolate is the keeper, 4 to 5 years stored cool against a label of 2; milk and white chocolate carry milk fat and keep about a year. Cocoa powder keeps indefinitely. The dark chocolate page has the long-store detail; this one is the whole family.

Which to buy

For keeping: dark chocolate of 70 percent or more in sealed bars, and cocoa powder in a sealed canister, which is the way to store chocolate for a decade. Milk chocolate, white chocolate and anything filled, nutted or caramel is for eating this year. Chocolate chips keep like the chocolate they are made of. Buy bars after the holidays when they are cheap, and keep them where it stays under 70°F.

How long it really lasts

By how it is kept

FormLabel saysReal, stored well
Dark chocolate, 70 percent and up, sealed2 years4 to 5 years cool and dark
Milk chocolate, sealedAbout a yearAbout a year; the milk fat turns
White chocolate, sealed6 to 12 monthsUnder a year
Chocolate chips, sealed1 to 2 yearsAs the chocolate they are made of
Cocoa powder, sealed2 yearsIndefinite; a year opened at full flavor
Filled, nutted or caramel chocolatesMonths; the filling sets the clock
The Preparedness Food Shopping List (PDF), a one page printable PDF

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What to store, how much of it for one person for one month, and how long it keeps. One page with checkboxes, built from the Survival Foods field guide. Print it, multiply by your people and months, and take it to the store.

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How to store it

Cool, dark, dry and sealed, between 60 and 70°F; chocolate melts at about body temperature and a bar that has melted and reset has lost its snap and gained a bloom. It takes on the smell of whatever is near it, so sealed in its wrapper inside a jar or a bag. The fridge works in a hot summer if the chocolate is sealed against moisture and condensation; the freezer keeps dark chocolate for years if it's wrapped tight and thawed in the fridge still sealed.

How to tell it has turned

Bloom, the white or gray dusty film, is cocoa butter that rose to the surface after a temperature swing, or sugar that dissolved in a little moisture and recrystallized; it's harmless and the chocolate melts back to normal. Chocolate is done when it smells off, rancid or like old paint, which is the milk fat or the nuts turning, or when it shows mold, which only happens on filled or wet-stored chocolate. Grainy or crumbly dark chocolate is old and still fine for cooking.

Keep it

White or gray bloom, a dull surface, a bar that has gone grainy, chocolate years past its date that smells of chocolate.

Discard on sight

A rancid or off smell, mold, or filled chocolates past their date.

How much, and how to use it

An ounce of dark chocolate is about 170 calories and a lift that nothing else in the bucket provides, which is why there is a bar in the bag and a box in the store. Cocoa powder with sugar and powdered milk makes hot chocolate from the shelf and the brownies that use the stored oil and flour. Old, bloomed or grainy chocolate melts into sauce, cocoa and baking without anyone knowing.

When the power goes out

Chocolate in a house with no air conditioning in August is the only storage problem it has. Move it to the coolest room, or the cooler, sealed; a melted and reset bar is still food.

Shelf-life figures are from the Survival Foods field guide; fridge, freezer and pantry times are from the USDA cold and pantry storage charts. Run the look, smell, taste check before eating anything past its date.

Questions this answers

Tap a question for the short answer.

How do I tell if chocolate has gone bad?

A rancid or off smell, or mold on a filled chocolate. Bloom, dullness and a grainy texture are age, not spoilage.

How long does chocolate last?

Dark chocolate 4 to 5 years stored cool against a label of 2; milk and white chocolate about a year; cocoa powder indefinitely sealed. Filled and nutted chocolates keep months.

What is the white film on old chocolate?

Bloom: cocoa butter or sugar that rose to the surface after a temperature or moisture change. It is harmless, and the chocolate melts back to normal.

How do I store chocolate long term?

Dark bars and cocoa powder, sealed, under 70°F, away from smells. The freezer keeps dark chocolate for years if it's wrapped tight and thawed sealed.

Keep going

Read nextSpoilage Cheat SheetA one-page recap. When something looks off, run these in order and trust the result.Food · Guide

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