I have a large walk in closet under my staircase. I have liberated it from my wife and started putting cases of canned food, ramen noodles, bisquick, cooking oil, water etc. I also threw in condiments, gum etc. I want to add some chocolate. I bought a pack of 24 hershey bars pretty cheap at costco. Don't want to buy more without being sure it will last.
Maybe I should be buying the thicker bars you see made for cooking etc. Anyone have experience storing chocolate?

dehydrate it

we make chocolate candy as a hobby and it keeps quite well (a year or so is about as long as we've tried) simply vacuum sealed.  

Thanks. I guess I could buy one big box as part of emergency rations. Then use if for Halloween candy if it wasn't used and buy fresh afterwards.

Without a/c, I have had zero luck storing chocolate.





Consider this a tag to see what kind of good information you get.

Chocolate = fats. Keep it away from light, heat, and air. Cool, dark, and air tight (vacuumed) is the best and can last quite a while.

The oil/water barrier is a bacteria haven.  It will turn rancid, sooner or later.

Cocoa powder will store a long time, though.  So will white sugar.  Combine with fresh oil and you have chocolate.

Nice info. That is easy. I will keep a few bars and replenish each halloween. But I will buy big cocoa powder, big bag of sugar and big can of cooking oil. We have been rotating. Using some stuff from storage and replacing next trip to Costco.

cocoa will last forever.



provided it doesn't get wet or pests.

All you need to rotate is the oil.  Rotate that annually.

freezing works best if you can do it

You might consider getting a case or two of Hershey's Syrup in 16 oz cans - can be used in various recipes, and ain't too shabby by the spoonful, right out of the can.



IIRC, they also sell it in much larger "Institution Size" cans.

Chocolate - Long Term Storage Types



1.) Chocolate Brownie Mix has
a shelf life of approximately 1 year.



2.) Semi-sweet Chocolate
has a shelf life of approximately 1 year and depending on storage
conditions it can be useful for up to 2 years.



3.) Chocolate
Syrup has an approximate shelf life of 2 years. It will need to be
refrigerated after opening.



4.) Unsweetened Chocolate has a shelf
life of approximately 18 months.



5.) Cocoa (powdered) has an
indefinite shelf life as long as it remains unopened. Cocoa that has
been opened has a shelf life of approximately 1 year.



Most
commercially prepared chocolate, such as candy bars, have a very short
shelf life of 90 days or less. They are also highly susceptible to
damage from high temperatures. They also do not keep well in the
refrigerator. Discoloration and quality of taste will suffer. In all
cases you will need to use proper storage conditions to avoid changes
caused by excessive temperatures, undue exposure to light sources and
excess humidity.

Was told at Colonial Williamsburg that chocolate should be allowed to age and the older, the better.  However, the chocolate they made there (not for sale either) was dark chocolate.  

Don't worry if your dark chocolate has white on it.  That means it's been exposed to heat and the flavor isn't affected at all.