Why Does Chocolate Sweat?

by Gwen
(Manitowoc, WI)

Why does chocolate sweat after taking out of refrigerator?

Why does chocolate sweat after taking out of refrigerator?

I make chocolate peanut butter balls. After dipping them in chocolate, I put them on waxed paper and put them in the refrigerator to set.



After taking them out of the fridge, I let them sit for a short time before packing them.


They tend to sweat. Why does this happen?


I appreciate your help.
~Gwen







Hi Gwen,

That's a good question about chocolate and why it sweats after being refrigerated or frozen. That sweating is called condensation.


As with most food items that come out of the fridge, the difference in the temperature of the item and the temperature in the air causes the food item to develop moisture on the surface.


What you can do is either avoid putting the chocolate peanut butter balls in the refrigerator in the first place, or cover them.


Sometimes when you cover the surface the moisture will then gather on the cover rather than on the chocolate underneath as the candy returns to room temperature.


If I need to place homemade chocolate candy treats in the fridge, I try to put them in some type of airtight container. Because I live in the tropics most of the year, I can't always allow my chocolate to set at room temperature.


If you don't have a suitable container, you can still try to cover the chocolate when you remove it from the fridge by using a sheet of waxed paper or place an upturned container over top of your tray, etc. I hope you get the idea.


Humidity and chocolate don't go together at all, but sometimes it just can't be helped. In those cases, I'd rather have my chocolate in spite of a less than perfect appearance rather than not make it all. :)


Hope that sufficiently answers your question, Why does chocolate sweat?


Blessings,
Angie from chocolate-candy-mall.com

Comments for Why Does Chocolate Sweat?

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Dec 20, 2018
Fix sweating chocolates already made
by: Kathy

How can I Fix sweating chocolates already made They seem to be sweating, they did go in the fridge, but I always have in the past. Can I salvage these somehow?

Aug 01, 2017
chocolate has condesation in freezer NEW
by: Marvina

Hi
I make candies and dip them in chocolate all the time. I make the peanut butter balls millionaires etc. Form them and freeze them. Dip them frozen let them dry and put back in the freezer until I take them out to package. I have never had any trouble with condensation until we moved from North Dakota to Oklahoma. Now I have condensation while they are in the freezer. What can I do

Oct 16, 2013
Sweating Chocolate NEW
by: Angie from chocolate-candy-mall.com

Dear Nathaly,

I've moved your question over here so you could find the answer above that I already gave to Gwen about what causes chocolate to seem like it is sweating.

It's great that you are tempering your chocolate. You shouldn't have to put it in the fridge or freezer to set. Just let it set at room temperature. Yes, I know that takes longer, but it's the only way to be sure the chocolate get that condensation on it as it returns to room temperature.

That grey color you're seeing is also a result of the fact that you put the chocolate in the fridge/freezer.

You should get beautiful results just by tempering. Skip the chilling! :) I know in some cases it is necessary (because I live in the tropics), but in your case and location, you shouldn't need to do so except for during the hottest part of summer (if you have no air conditioning).

Hope that helps. Let us see some of your creations. They sound delish and I'll bet they look great too.

Oct 16, 2013
Sweating Chocolate NEW
by: Nathaly from Queens, NY

I am making nutella filled bonbons.

I tempered my chocolate, filled the molds, put them in the fridge to harden and then filled them with the nutella and a whole hazelnut, then finished it with more tempered chocolate to close them and put them in the frezer overnight.

Next morning took them out of the freezer and pop them out of the mold.

While I got them all out of the mold and ate 3 of them (for quality control) they were nice and crunchy, they have that perfect snap and shine... but then they started to sweat.

I transferred them to an airtight container to bring them to work for my coworkers to taste and by the time they were more sweaty and no longer had a snap to them. Although they were sweating they still have a nice shine to them. What happened?

Why are they sweating and why are they not "crunchy" anymore? Was it not tempered properly? Any help you could provide will be greatly appreciated.

PS. I just checked the last two I have and they are starting to turn grey... a little... no more beautiful shine anymore!

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