Hello all,

I have a question I hope one of you can answer:

This week I bought on eBay a collectible item that included a dozen Ghirardelli
chocolate bars and some other assorted Ghirardelli chocolates. I know for a
fact this chocolate is three years old, because I bought the same collectible
at Christmastime 2000, and it was a limited-edition product.

The chocolate bars are all in their original packaging and in double
shrink-wrap. My wife and I opened one chocolate, and there was no "bloom" on
the surface. We bravely ate the piece. My wife thought it was fine. I thought
it might have tasted a little stale, but I don't know if I was influenced by
knowing it was three years old.

My question, or questions, really: Is there any reason not to eat this
chocolate? And, if it is OK to eat, should there be a degradation in the taste.
I have no idea at what temperature it was kept, but as I said, it came in two
layers of shrink wrap.

Thanks...

Henry

(HankSchulman) wrote in message >...
> Hello all,
>
> I have a question I hope one of you can answer:
>
> This week I bought on eBay a collectible item that included a dozen Ghirardelli
> chocolate bars and some other assorted Ghirardelli chocolates. I know for a
> fact this chocolate is three years old, because I bought the same collectible
> at Christmastime 2000, and it was a limited-edition product.
>
> The chocolate bars are all in their original packaging and in double
> shrink-wrap. My wife and I opened one chocolate, and there was no "bloom" on
> the surface. We bravely ate the piece. My wife thought it was fine. I thought
> it might have tasted a little stale, but I don't know if I was influenced by
> knowing it was three years old.
>
> My question, or questions, really: Is there any reason not to eat this
> chocolate? And, if it is OK to eat, should there be a degradation in the taste.
> I have no idea at what temperature it was kept, but as I said, it came in two
> layers of shrink wrap.
>
> Thanks...
>
> Henry

If there is no bloom, and it isn't petrified hard as a rock, and your
teeth didn't break, and you were alive the next morning, I'd guess it
is OK.

As to taste, I couldn't say. I don't know what 'stale' chocolate
tastes like. Chocolate in my house never lasts that long. ;-Q