It is a question that has severed many a friendship: does chocolate belong in the pantry or the fridge? But after years of having to cut out your friends because they’re weirdos who keep their choccie in the fridge, Cadbury has finally given us a concrete answer on the question that keeps us up at night.
The pantry.
The chocolate giant finally answered the question after Bruno Bouchet, most well-known as Sydney’s “List King”, shared the truth on his Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CAXK1n2DmA7/
Now, any good chocolate lover (myself included) would tell you that Bruno is absolutely correct in his decision to keep his Dairy Milk in the pantry. But if you don’t want to take my word (or Bruno’s) for it, the experts at Cadbury have given an official verdict.
Hi Bruno. Chocolate should always be stored in a slightly cool, dry, dark place such as cupboard or pantry at temperatures less than 21°C to ensure the quality isn’t compromised 😌
— Cadbury Australia (@CadburyAU) May 20, 2020
Cadbury, arguably the kings of the chocolate game, advise to keep your block in a “slightly cool, dry, dark place” with temperatures below 21C for optimum quality.
This echoes the information already available on their website:
“Chocolate should be wrapped in foil, placed in an air-tight container and kept in a cool, dry place away from strong flavours. Do not store in the refrigerator. If stored correctly, chocolate generally has a shelf life of 12 months, so check the use by date on the packet for freshness,” the Cadbury Kitchen website reads.
But it’s not just Cadbury that will tell you chocolate does not, under any circumstances, belong in the fridge. No. Chocolate expert Luke Owen Smith of The Chocolate Bar told Stuff NZ that putting your choccies in the fridge makes them taste “dull” because it doesn’t “release the flavours.”
“Extremely cold temperatures can mess with the temper as much as hot temperatures can,” Owen Smith told Stuff.
Regardless of the slightly cool, hard FACTS dished out by Cadbury and Owen Smith, many fans still took to social media to share their thoughts on the age old debate.
https://twitter.com/niboswald/status/1262711722512732161
I don’t think anywhere in QLD sits below 21 degrees, The chocolate goes in the fridge out of necessity
— Blek (@blakomalono) May 20, 2020
To put it simply, unless you want to be sinking your teeth into a cold block of flavourless wood, don’t store your chocolate in the fridge.
Your beloved Dairy Milk will thrive between 15-20C in low humidity environments. Unless your house is getting hotter than 28C, you really don’t need to store your chocolate in the fridge. Don’t do it. You’re embarrassing yourself.
