When not to eat chocolate?

Do yourself a favor and watch out for the following five signs to determine whether your chocolate's spoiled or if it's safe to eat. ... How to Tell When Chocolate Has Gone Bad Fat Bloom. ... Sugar Bloom. ... Odor. ... Quality & Freshness. ... Taste.

huffpost.com - How to Tell When Chocolate Has Gone Bad | HuffPost Life

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By Kate Steffens, Chocolate Expert for Menuism.com

We've all had that moment, putting on a jacket and finding a long-lost Hershey's Kiss in the pocket, or finding a forgotten bar of baking chocolate in the back of the pantry. Such is the power of chocolate that many of us would throw caution to the wind and gobble it right up when there is a good chance of stomachache--or worse. So how do you know whether your newly unearthed chocolate is still good? Do yourself a favor and watch out for the following five signs to determine whether your chocolate's spoiled or if it's safe to eat.

1. Fat Bloom

When you see a white or grayish film on the surface of your food, it normally means the product has gone bad, but it's a different story with chocolate. When the cocoa butter fats in chocolate separate from the cocoa mass and rise to the surface, it results in something called "fat bloom." While not the most attractive thing to see on your chocolate bar, fat bloom is usually safe to eat.

2. Sugar Bloom

Chocolate that has been exposed to humidity or moved quickly from cold to hot temperatures can cause the sugar to crystallize. The result is a grainy, unpleasant texture, and while it's not harmful to consume, sugar bloom doesn't make for a very pleasant eating experience.

3. Odor

A sniff test is an easy way to tell if your chocolate will be tasty or off-putting. Chocolate absorbs odors like a sponge, especially when stored in a fridge full of savory foodstuffs. Chocolate is best stored tightly wrapped, in a cool (about 65 °F, unrefrigerated), dry environment away from strongly scented foods.

4. Quality & Freshness

Chocolate is best when eaten within a year of its production, but high quality chocolate can be consumed well past its sell-by date. Some chocolate improves like wine, with age. High quality chocolate contains natural preservatives called flavanols. Flavanols provide excellent antioxidant health benefits while keeping the chocolate fresher-tasting longer than store-bought chocolate containing artificial preservatives.

5. Taste

A small nibble should be enough to alert you to any rancid or off tastes. Watch out for overpowering bitterness and the presence of other, non-chocolate flavors like onion or garlic. Cocoa powder can last a long time if stored properly in a sealed container, but can quickly take on a funky taste and scent if exposed to a pantry full of spices.

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Is Ghirardelli chocolate good quality?

During our Ghirardelli taste test, we knew from the first bite the brand would be high up in our ranking. The chocolate isn't too soft or sugary and offers the right amount of sweetness and crunch. Ghirardelli bars have a solid crunch when you break the bar, which we can appreciate.

tastingtable.com - Chocolate Brands, Ranked Worst To Best - Tasting Table

Chocolate Brands, Ranked Worst To Best

If you have a sweet tooth, chances are chocolate brands are high on your snack radar. And if you agree that chocolate might as well be the eighth wonder of the world, keep reading. Per Insider, the chocolate industry is a more than $100 billion business, and to keep that business alive requires a lot of cocoa beans. According to the National Confectioners Association, it takes 400 cocoa beans to make just one pound of chocolate — and a cacao tree will, on average, produce some 2,500 beans a year, or about six pounds of chocolate. To put this into context, for Valentine's Day alone, an estimated 58 million pounds of chocolate are sold every year (via Good Housekeeping). As for chocolate makers, as with any food product, some brands are killing it in this space, while others aren't quite living up to the hype. Our Tasting Table taste testers hit the ground running to round up 20 chocolate brands with the end goal of ranking them from worst to best. As self-proclaimed chocolate fanatics, we found so many good ones, it was truly a challenge to organize them for this listicle. But we did, so grab a glass of milk, a cup of tea, or whatever beverage fits your fancy (and pairs with chocolate, of course), and get ready for some serious deliciousness.