I regularly buy Ghirardelli double chocolate chips. Most of the time they have a complex and delicious flavor. But sometimes the texture is harder and they have lost the complex/delicious flavor.
I don't want to use them for baking. Is there anything you can do to restore chocolate? For instance, I'm wondering if I could warm them up to near the melting point to restore the flavor?
I suspect they are ruined when they are exposed to high temperatures – as when I've had a high quality chocolate bar (or chips) melt – a similar thing happens. Cold temperatures (below freezing) also seem to be bad.
Best Answer
It sounds like Chocolate bloom
My guess would be that when you observe this after cold storage, it is sugar bloom due to condensation cycling in your freezer & likely fat bloom when exposed to heat, though it could be both.
The chocolate should be salvageable by melting in a double boiler.
Further Explained from wikwpedia:
"Chocolate bloom is either of two types of whitish coating that can appear on the surface of chocolate: sugar bloom... and fat bloom"
"Sugar bloom is caused by moisture. Condensation on to the surface of the chocolate or moisture in the chocolate coating causes the sugar to absorb the moisture and dissolve. When the moisture evaporates, the sugar forms larger crystals, leaving a dusty layer. It is caused by:
Fat bloom in chocolate is due to the cocoa butter which has separated toward the surface.2It is caused by:
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