Every summer, we get a few emails with the same worried message. “There’s a white film on my chocolate, it’s got white spots, it’s gone crumbly. Is it mouldy?”
Short answer: no. It’s not mould, and it’s not off. Here’s what’s actually going on.
What is chocolate bloom?
That white film, white spots, streaky look, or crumbly texture is called fat bloom. It happens when chocolate gets warm, the cocoa butter softens and migrates to the surface, then sets again into different crystal shapes. You end up with a whitish, sometimes blobby look, a chalky texture, and no real snap.
Bloom is not mould, not spoilage, and not a manufacturing fault. It’s just chocolate that’s been warm and then cooled back down.
Is bloomed chocolate safe to eat?
Yes, completely. The flavour is still there, though the grainy texture loses that melt-in-the-mouth feel. Nothing about it will harm you.
If the look puts you off, melt it down. It works beautifully in hot chocolate, brownies, chocolate sauce or anything baked. Our favourite fix, though, is to turn it into homemade chocolate bark. Recipe below.
Why our chocolate is more prone to bloom
Because as a natural, organic food company, we don’t add anything to stop it.
No soy lecithin, no PGPR, no emulsifiers, no stabilisers. A lot of commercial chocolate contains additives that hold the bar’s structure through temperature swings, often undeclared because they’re classed as manufacturing aids. We’ve chosen to leave that stuff out, and the trade-off is that our chocolate is more sensitive to warmth than a supermarket bar.
Cocoa butter is a fussy fat. When chocolate is tempered properly, the cocoa butter sets into stable, evenly sized crystals. That’s what gives a good bar its glossy finish and clean snap. Heat it back up past about 20 degrees Celsius and those crystals break down. When it cools again, they reform, but larger and more irregular, and that’s the white film or spots you’re seeing.
Where chocolate bloom usually happens
From production to store, we keep the chocolate between 10 and 15 degrees Celsius through temperature-controlled logistics and warehousing. From the moment it leaves us, though, we lose that control. Bloom usually shows up after the bar has spent time somewhere like:
- A hot car, even briefly
- A pantry near an oven, dishwasher, or sunny window
- A shop that switches the air conditioning off overnight
- A handbag in summer
It doesn’t need to have melted into a puddle. A few hours at 22 or 23 degrees is enough to start the process, and sometimes it won’t show for a couple of weeks. Once the crystals fall out of temperature, they keep changing.
How to store chocolate so it doesn’t bloom
- Keep it somewhere cool, dry, and dark, ideally below 18 degrees Celsius
- Away from sunny benches, ovens, and warm cupboards
- If your kitchen runs hot in summer, the fridge is fine. Wrap it well so it doesn’t pick up other smells, and let it come back to room temperature before eating
- Eat it sooner rather than later. This is the most reliable storage method we know of.
Homemade chocolate bark recipe
Our tried and tested method to bring bloomed chocolate back to life.
1. Chop and melt
Break the chocolate into small, even pieces so it melts at the same rate. Pop it in a bowl set over steaming water. The steam should touch the bottom of the bowl, never the chocolate itself. Stir gently and often.
2. Cool
Once smooth and glossy, take it off the heat and keep stirring until the bowl feels barely warm to the touch, around skin temperature.
3. Pour
While it’s cool but still melted, spread onto baking paper. Work quickly and scatter over dry toppings: toasted nuts, dried fruit, pretzels, freeze-dried raspberries, flaky salt or marshmallows. The chocolate is cool but not yet set, so the bits will stick.
4. Set
Fridge for 30 minutes only. Once firm, snap into rough shards and store airtight.
Three golden rules:
- Keep water and steam well away from your chocolate while melting
- Use dry toppings only, never fresh fruit or anything wet
- Make sure the chocolate is genuinely lukewarm before pouring, otherwise it’ll set crumbly again
Frequently asked questions
Can you eat chocolate with white spots?
Yes. White spots on chocolate are almost always bloom, which is safe to eat. If it smells off or has any fuzzy or coloured growth, that’s different, and you should bin it.
Why does chocolate turn white in the fridge?
This is sugar bloom rather than fat bloom. Moisture dissolves the sugar on the surface, then evaporates and leaves a white powdery layer. Wrapping the chocolate well stops it from happening.
How long does chocolate last?
Stored properly, our dark chocolate keeps well past its best-before date, which you’ll find on the back of the bar.
If you’ve opened a bar that’s bloomed and you’re not sure what to do, get in touch. We’d rather hear from you than have you throw it out. The chocolate inside is the same chocolate we made. It’s just been rearranged.
