Why does some chocolate turn whiteish?

[MaverickMan]

Why does chocolate do this? It happened yesterday, i opened a bag or Revels (which had been in the fridge for a few days) to find they had turned this unatractive whitish, speckled colour. The expiry date is 06-09-06 so they can't be out of date can they? Another time i opened a Cadburys Fruit n Nut, and that had round splodges of white on the underside of it, that was still months in date aswel.

I have tried google, but couldn't find anything to explain this. I've searched the forums but come up with too many topics on 'White Chocolate'.

Can anyone shed any light on this?

Chocolate bloom.

Heat has got at the product at some point.

Safe to eat.

[loulou]

Chuck it in the bin and buy some fresh.

[goldencup]

I believe this is why Australian chocolate tastes different to ours - they add something to it so it doesn't do this, as they have to keep chocolate in the fridge.

[smurfboy]

You shouldn't really keep chocolate in the fridge.

[minty]

 I do Smurfy..

[smurfboy]

My dad is obsessed with chilling chocolate. I came home once and said I had a new chocolate bar for us to try and his first question was 'is it cold?' I said 'yes, I had my bag fitted with a fridge so I could chill it on the bus home'.

[minty]

oh how thoughtful of you...  

[Logger]

I usually find that chocolate goes white when it has gone from hot conditions to cold. I had a box of Milk Tray a while back that had been kept in a warm room then put in the fridge and within a couple of days, there were white bits all over them.

I noticed last Autumn that quite a few chocolate bars i bought had the same problem. I assumed it was because the shops had been really warm over summer, then cooler.

[phyllisbermann]

It noramally occurs with poor quality chocolate.

[loulou]

My dad is obsessed with chilling chocolate. I came home once and said I had a new chocolate bar for us to try and his first question was 'is it cold?' I said 'yes, I had my bag fitted with a fridge so I could chill it on the bus home'.

Were you on young inventor of the year for that?

 

It noramally occurs with poor quality chocolate.

Oh really?

"

Chocolate bloom is visible by whitish streaks or dots on the surface of the Chocolate and can be the result of two things. One cause of Chocolate bloom is Chocolate that is allowed to get warm, allowing the Cocoa Butters to separate from the Chocolate and rise to the surface in whitish streaks or swirls. This is not a sign that your Chocolate is inedible, just that it does not look as pretty.

Another type of Chocolate Bloom is "Sugar Bloom". Sugar bloom occurs when moisture is allowed to get to the Chocolate (such as in a refrigerator) and the water draws the sugar to the surface as it evaporates, leaving white dots of sugar crystals on the surface of the Chocolate. Though sugar bloom does not affect the taste of the Chocolate, it does result in a somewhat grainy texture"

http://www.chocolatefetish.com/chocolate_bloom.php

Poor quality chocolate doesn't tend to contain as much cocoa butter, instead it has veg fat. So explain again?

[Cherry_Ripe]

My dad is obsessed with chilling chocolate.

 my dad is exactly the same, even though he almost broke a tooth trying to eat the Toblerone I bought him for father's day chilled!

Today is my dad's birthday and I bought him some Thornton's fudge ... which he also put straight in the fridge!

I have never seen chocolate bloom on real chocolate.

Qualify "real chocolate".