Chocolate gifts are perhaps the tastiest gifts anyone could hope to receive. The problem with chocolate gifts, though, is making sure they don’t melt before they reach their destination.
This is quite easy if you are hand-delivering your chocolate gifts. But if, on the other hand, you plan to mail them, that’s another story. Here are some tips to help you make sure your chocolate gifts don’t break while handling them and make sure they don’t turn into chocolate soup gifts:
· If you’re mailing a candy bar and don’t want it to break, try taping a piece of stiff cardboard to the back, then wrap it in a piece of bubble wrap.
If you plan to send a gift of chocolate during the winter, it will probably stay put and not melt. If, on the other hand, you expect your gift of chocolate to arrive completely solid in California in the heat of August, you need to think again. Avoid shipping chocolate in times of extreme heat.
· Instead of sending chocolate gifts filled with truffles and candy bars, consider sending brownies and/or cookies (but save the chocolate-dipped cookies for the colder months). If you decide to send cookies by mail, choose the ones that do not break easily, such as those that are dropped. Package them in a foil-lined tin or small box. Put sheets of waxed paper between the cookie layers. Protect the cookie tin or box inside the shipping box with plastic bags (or other similar material). Check the box with “perishable items.” Also write on top, “this side up” to encourage careful handling.
· If you are shipping other items along with your chocolate, place your chocolate in a zip-lock bag (and suck out all the air) to ensure that should it melt, nothing else is ruined.
· Pay a little extra to have your chocolate shipped overnight, or at least have it shipped 2-3 day priority. The sooner you get there, the less likely it is to melt first.
· Make sure the recipient will be home when you receive it. If your box has to wait on your doorstop in the sun, the chocolate is bound to melt! Maybe even ask for a signature.
If it’s not delicate chocolate, freeze it before packaging it for mailing. It won’t stay frozen, but your chocolate treats will take longer to melt.
Package your chocolate gifts with frozen gel packs, dry ice, or another cold source. If using dry ice, write in the box “contains dry ice” to warn recipients. Be sure to pack the chocolate in a resealable bag so that it does not directly touch the dry ice and you do not touch the ice with your bare hands. Write “keep refrigerated” on the outside of the box.
Ship your chocolate gift pack at the beginning of the week to ensure it doesn’t sit at the shipping center over the weekend.
· Send chocolate that is already melted! In other words, why not send in a delicious chocolate sauce or chocolate fondue?