They are an excellent gift, family tea rarely does without them, of course - it's all about chocolates. Their huge variety sometimes boggles the imagination. Today it is not easy to navigate the quality of a chocolate treat.
Choice of chocolates
When choosing chocolates, you should pay attention not only to their cost, filling and manufacturer. You should adhere to the rule - the fresher the better. It is worth paying special attention to the expiration date.
Chocolates come in a variety of ingredients and fillings. Therefore, their shelf life will be different. So, for example, in "Bird's Milk" it is only 2 weeks, and a delicacy with jelly or marmalade filling is stored for no more than 30 days. Chocolate coated sweets - 4 months. If the packaging has a shelf life of more than 6 months, a large amount of preservatives has been added to their composition, but there are clearly not enough natural ingredients.
Taking into account the requirements of GOST, the filling in chocolate sweets must have a uniform consistency and not exceed 20% of the total weight of the product.
The following information should be described on the packaging of chocolates in an accessible place: possible defects, energy and nutritional value, shelf life and conditions of storage, date of production, net weight, name of sweets, full address of the manufacturer with phone numbers, name and trademark of the enterprise.
If you find precipitation of sugar crystals on chocolate sweets, be aware that this product is produced in violation of technology.
The ingredients of delicious and real chocolates, which are indicated on the package, are: cocoa butter or powder, cocoa or cocoa liquor, cocoa-containing products. They are often replaced with cheap palm or coconut oil. This is permissible according to GOST, but not more than 5%.
Helpful information
For reference, it should be noted that cocoa butter has a melting point of + 32 ° C. That is why quality chocolates melt in your mouth.
If the candies have to be gnawed and they are solid in composition, it means that they were made using substitute fats.
Quality chocolates have a shiny and smooth appearance, a perfectly flat surface. They should not have any streaks or sagging.
If you find a matte surface on the candies, it means that soy was most likely added to their composition.
When a whitish coating appears on a chocolate treat, it is possible to judge about improper storage. This is a clear sign of a sharp temperature drop. It is not recommended to buy such sweets. Chocolates require special storage conditions and careful handling. Sudden temperature changes are the main ill-wishers of sweets. The optimum storage temperature is + 18 ° C.
