Keeping Your Chocolates Perfect: How to Avoid Bloom

Chocolate is a treat we all love but keeping it looking smooth and flawless can be a challenge. One of the most common issues encountered when working with chocolate is bloom—those white spots, streaks, or dull patches that can appear on the surface. In this post, we’ll explain what causes bloom and share simple tips to keep your chocolate looking perfect!

What is Bloom?
Bloom can appear as spots, streaks, or dusty-looking patches and can range from a dull white to a severe white discoloration. There are two types of bloom:

• Fat Bloom – If your chocolate feels greasy, you've got fat bloom. This is the most common source of bloom which occurs when cocoa butter fat rises to the chocolate’s surface and recrystallizes. While fat bloom has a negative effect on appearance, the product is still safe to eat. You can fix pure chocolate by melting and retempering it. Unfortunately, finished confections (like truffles) can’t be easily repaired since they have fillings or inclusions.
• Sugar Bloom – When you rub chocolate and it feels dry and powdery, say “hello” to sugar bloom. Sugar bloom happens when chocolate is exposed to moisture. Water dissolves the sugar, which then forms rough sugar crystals on the chocolate’s surface when it dries.  Sugar bloom generally appears as droplets of sugar crystals on the surface of the product.  If the bloom is moderate to severe, the chocolate may feel grainy and should be discarded.

What Causes Fat Bloom?

• Heat Exposure – Excess heat can cause perfectly good chocolate to bloom. The heat melts some or all of the cocoa butter, and when it recrystallizes it lacks the proper stable cocoa butter crystal nuclei and cooling for proper recrystallization. Keep chocolate away from heat and direct sunlight to prevent this!
• Poor Tempering – Another source of fat bloom is poorly tempered chocolate. If chocolate isn’t tempered correctly (under tempered or over tempered) it will bloom faster than well-tempered chocolate. Using a tempermeter or other means of optimizing your tempering, will maximize bloom resistance.
• Incompatible Fats – A third source of fat bloom is the mixing of incompatible fats. If you use compound coatings, which are usually palm kernel oil based, these should not be mixed with cocoa butter-based chocolate. The incompatibility of these fats can lead to inefficient crystallization and eventual fat bloom.

How to Prevent Sugar Bloom
To avoid sugar bloom, keep refrigerated or frozen chocolates packaged and sealed until they equilibrate to ambient temperature. This prevents condensation, which can trigger sugar bloom.

Bloom might make chocolate look unappealing, but in many cases, it’s still fine to work with and can be melted and retempered to make beautiful, delicious chocolate confections. To keep your chocolate looking its best, store it properly, temper it well and avoid mixing incompatible fats.

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How to Avoid Bloom when Coating Nuts

As consumers, we love chocolate-covered nuts because they represent multiple craveable characteristics. Crunchy—check! Sweet and salty—check! Plus, as a good source of protein and healthy fats, they are often categorized as being a healthier and more satisfying treat!

However, when combining nuts and chocolate in confections fat bloom often presents problems caused by oil migration. Oil migration between the chocolate and nut or nut paste leads to changes in the quality of the confection, such as visible surface bloom, hardening of the filling and softening of the chocolate.

While oil migration is inevitable when pairing chocolate and nuts together, the following techniques will help avoid or slow oil migration, pulled from past education led by Guittard Chocolate Company and the Oregon Hazelnut Marketing Board at RCI’s Fall Regional Conference in Portland, Oregon.

• If using roasted hazelnuts, use a two-step roasting process.
• Select a chocolate with a fine particle size.
• Ensure the chocolate is well-tempered.
• When adding hazelnuts or hazelnut paste to tempered chocolate, the temperature of the hazelnuts should be within 1-2˚F of the temperature of the tempered chocolate.
• A thicker layer of chocolate around a hazelnut or hazelnut filling slows oil migration, bloom formation and textural change.
• Double enrobing with cooling between layers.
• Consider the shape and design of the confection to limit thin spots of coating.
• During storage, limit temperature fluctuations.

With these expert tips for fighting bloom caused by oil migration, you can create truly craveable treats using hazelnuts and other nuts. RCI members: Login at retailconfectioners.org/pasteducation to access this and other education recordings from past RCI events.

Crave more? If you like what you read here, look for the "Subscribe now" box on the right to enter your email address and start receiving weekly tips, like this, delivered straight to your email inbox. RCI's Tip of the Week blog is just one of the many resources we offer to help candy makers refine their craft and build upon their business and marketing practices. Follow us on Facebook for even more sweet inspiration.

Not a member? Click here to learn how RCI can help you build your sweet business.

Tip #290: How Not To Ruin Chocolate

With a pinch of moisture and a dash of heat, you’ve got the recipe to ruin perfectly good chocolate. But we’re not looking to ruin chocolate here! It may not be easy, but as a chocolatier, you are expected to craft delicious chocolate with a glossy sheen and perfect snap every time, without fail. However, thanks to a myriad of factors that can negatively affect  your chocolate at any given point, even the most skilled chocolatiers can have off days in the kitchen. To help, we’ve created this quick-reference guide to pinpoint common mishaps that can occur when working with chocolate so they can be easily corrected.

Chocolate is dry and powdery

When you rub chocolate and it feels dry and powdery, say “hello” to sugar bloom. Sugar bloom is caused by moisture. Dew forms on chocolate and gets absorbed by the sugar, leaving a dusty layer of crystals.

    Causes:

• High humidity (50% humidity or less is best)
• Cooling temperature was too low (below 50° F)
• Chocolates with a moist center were stored in a high-temperature room.

Chocolate feels greasy

If your chocolate feels greasy, you've got fat bloom. Fat bloom is caused when cocoa butter separates and moves to the surface of chocolate.

     Causes:

• Centers made with soft fats. Many nut centers can also cause fat bloom when in contact with incompatible fats.
• Proper storage temperature was not maintained.

Chocolate doesn't release properly from mould

Are your chocolate moulds putting up a good fight? Learn how to fight back with common causes for sticky moulds.

     Causes:

• Mould was too cold or too warm, causing chocolate in contact with the mould to lose temper.
• Mould was not clean.
• Too much or too little seed when tempering.
• Sugar bloom (see above)
• Center was too cool. Center must be close to the temperature of the chocolate.

Cracks in finished product

Sure, that chocolate bunny with a crack down the middle can still taste good, but it doesn't exactly send the right message to customers. Learn what's causing the problem below, so you can avoid it in the future.

     Causes:

• Cooling temperature was too low (below 50° F)
• Chocolate was in the cooler too long.
• Low viscosity of the chocolate

Other considerations

If you've covered all the bases above and are still unsure what's wreaking havoc in your candy kitchen, here's a few other common culprits you may have overlooked.

• Local climate conditions can greatly affect the environment of your candy kitchen and, in turn the results of your finished products. Take care to create an ideal environment for working with chocolate.
• Chocolate picks up and holds odor. Be careful when using products with a strong odor near chocolate, such as mint and even cleaning products.
• Be mindful of where air vents are blowing. Avoid air vents blowing directly on product.
• Keep moisture far from your chocolate making areas. A dishwasher giving off a bit of steam can have a negative effect on any product that is near it.
• Do not cook near chocolate. If you make caramel, for example, it should be made in a separate area.

Mistakes happen. Learn from your mistakes and the mistakes of others through education and talking with fellow candy makers. By understanding what could go wrong and how to avoid or correct mistakes, you can avoid a great deal of unnecessary costs and frustration.If you have questions that are not addressed in this post, RCI members can login to pose questions to fellow members on RCI’s online forum, List Serve.

RCI's Tip of the Week blog is just one of the many resources we offer to help candy makers refine their craft and build upon their business and marketing practices. Review past blog posts for quick and actionable tips to apply to your business. Look for the "Subscribe now" box on the right to enter your email address and start receiving weekly tips, like this, delivered straight to your email inbox.

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Tip #273: Don’t Skip This Step When Roasting Nuts

Not only do roasted nuts add satisfying crunch and crave-worthy sweet and salty flavors to chocolate confections, the pungent aroma of freshly roasted nuts, alone, can lure nearby shoppers into your candy store. This week’s brief tip, shared during RCI’s Chocolate Boot Camp^®, is a must for candy makers who roast their own nuts.

REDUCE THE RISK OF BLOOM

To reduce the risk of fat bloom, due to fat migration, wait at least 48 hours to coat roasted nuts with chocolate. This practice allows the oils to reabsorb into the nuts. Keep in mind, dry roasted and whole nuts will have less free fat than those that are oil roasted.

STOP CRACKS IN THEIR TRACKS

Waiting to enrobe roasted nuts will also help lessen the chances of unwanted cracks in these chocolate-covered morsels. Quick and easy tips like these will help ensure your nutty delights look and taste as good as they smell!

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The Best of 2016: Top 5 Tips of the Week

We've curated the most-read tips from 2016, to pinpoint topics that are most important to candy makers. 

From troubleshooting tips to sky-high merchandising inspiration, plus a customer service must-read, the following posts deliver quick and easily executed tips to simply the lives of confectioners, like you!

#5: Stop Sea Salt Caramels from Sweating

Suffer from sweaty sea salt caramels? Take tips from fellow candy makers and RCI members on how to avoid this common problem.

#4: Take Merchandising to New Heights

Get step-by-step instructions for creating this eye-catching truffle tree.

RCI MEMBER BONUS: Click here to login to RCI’s member site and snag three variations of ganache recipes on page 9 of RCI’s Kettle Talk magazine.

#3: Coat Marshmallows in Dextrose 

Nobody likes hard, dried-out marshmallows! Keep your ‘mallows soft and pillowy all year long with this popular tip of the week.

#2: Remind Employees of the Value of Customer Service 

An oldie, but a goodie, this throwback from 2012 covers four customer service basics that are too important not to review with your team on a regular basis.

 #1: Say “Buh-Bye” to Chocolate Bloom

Bloom is easily identified as one of the most common problems facing candy makers. No surprise, this post tops the list with common causes of chocolate bloom, as well as simple solutions.

Stay connected with RCI through Facebook for more tips and inspiration dedicated to the retail candy maker. Not a member? Click here to learn how RCI can help you build your sweet business.

Tip # 186:Take 3 Tips from RCI’s Chocolate Boot Camp

Last week, twenty-seven chocolatiers participated in Retail Confectioners International’s Chocolate Boot Camp^®. Although students in the course varied in age and experience, each of them graduated with a better understanding of working with chocolate.

“No matter what size your company is or how long you have been in business, there is always something to learn at Chocolate Boot Camp," says Michael Crudden, Vice President of Operations at Rosalind Candy Castle and 2016 course graduate.

We’ve snagged 3 quick tips from this popular course to share with you! Even if you’re a seasoned vet, you may be surprised to learn something that you can incorporate into your business.

Tip #1: Some centers need to be cooled in order to make them firm enough to hold their shape. If centers are too cold, they will cause the chocolate coating to crack and have a dull finish. Ideally, centers should be between 65-75 degrees Farenheit when coated in chocolate.

  

Tip #2: When using chocolate moulds, avoid bloom by making sure the moulds are 4 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than the chocolate.

Tip #3: If you don’t have a tempermeter, dip a knife blade into chocolate, leaving a thin film on the blade. If the chocolate is firm and not tacky in 5 minutes, at normal room temperature (65-68 degrees Farenheit), it is in good temper.

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