Does Anyone Know

[Milly]

how long wrapped chocolates last?

I KNEW I had some chocolate advent calendars that I bought for the grandkids before Christmas, but they went AWOL on me.

Anyway, I found them in the midst of a fling yesterday. They're still wrapped in plastic. Can they possibly still be good to eat by next Christmas?

[Momto2Boyz]

I don't know how long chocolates last. They would probably still be safe to eat next Christmas, just don't know how tasty they will be! Once chocolate starts to turn "waxy" on the outside, the flavor starts to change (something I learned on food network...thank you Alton Brown)!

I just popped the search terms "How long will chocolate last?" into a search engine and it said it should last for about a year. So you'd probably be safe keeping them!

Or maybe they could use them to countdown to their birthdays this year!

[Michelle]

Don't forget too, that we don't know when they were manufactured. There's no telling how long they sat on a store shelf, yk?

They would probably be fine to eat next Christmas, but they'd lose a lot of their quality and taste.

[Contrary Housewife]

Chocolate lasts a long time when properly stored. When improperly stored the oils separate and you get the "grey" look on the outside of it. It can be melted and mixed and tempered and it will be fine.

However I suspect that the advent calendar "chocolate" really has little cocoa content, in which case you are looking for the shelf life of the palm kernel oils, corn syrup, and soy lecithin that it's made from. Novelty chocolates aren't meant to have much shelf life, they expect you to eat it before the holiday is over. You can extend that by freezing it, but you will probably see separation of the cocoa butter as with better chocolate.

[mombottoo]

Should be good so long as you keep them in the freezer. I buy chocolate bars from the kids when they sell them and have them in the freezer for over a year & they were fine.

[khjmom]

I have kept some in the freezer for just over a year and it was still pretty good.

[Debbie-cat]

If they are milk chocolate..they might turn a little white but will be fine.

If they are chocolate flavored, they will still be good but have a waxy taste to them.