How to Store Homemade Chocolate

Whether you are making a batch of homemade chocolate to sell, to give as a gift or just as a treat for the future, you can be confident that your chocolate will keep its flavor and texture for a long time -- that is, as long as you store it properly. Kept under the right conditions, chocolate is very stable, maintaining its quality for around six months to a year. Proper Packaging Whether you are keeping your chocolate in a pantry or the refrigerator, you will need to seal it properly. Additionally, the fats in chocolate quickly absorb odors and flavors from nearby foods, so you will need to keep your chocolate away from anything that might contaminate it. Seal the chocolate in an airtight container; try to use small containers or fill them full to minimize the amount of air in the package. If your container is translucent, like a freezer bag, put several in a larger, opaque container, such as a tin box. Temperature and Humidity To keep chocolate fresh as long as possible, you need to keep it in a dark area, such as a pantry or cupboard, with moderate temperature and low humidity. Keep chocolate between 65 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit with a humidity of under 55%. If the temperature gets too high, it might be best to refrigerate your chocolates, although this method is not ideal. Refrigerating Chocolate Refrigerating your homemade chocolate can help stop it from melting or spoiling in the heat, but it can have its own negative effects. Sugar bloom causes streaky, white discoloration on the surface of chocolate, although the taste should not be affected. Condensation can also make the surface of your chocolate unpleasantly sticky -- this is known as sweating. Wrap the chocolate tightly in aluminum foil before sealing it in an airtight container. When it's time to eat, bring the chocolate out of the refrigerator and let it return gradually to room temperature before unwrapping and serving. Freezing Chocolate If you want to store your chocolate even longer, you can freeze it to keep it fresh for a year or more. As with refrigerating, wrap your chocolate tightly and seal it in an airtight container. Before freezing, refrigerate it for 24 hours; when you are ready to serve, thaw it for 24 hours in the refrigerator before allowing it to return to room temperature.

What are these brown little bugs in my kitchen cupboards?

sounds like some type of grain weevil or flour beetle (Confused Flour Beetle). You need to clear out your cupboard, throw out all your opened grain products and wash down the cupboard. For unopened stuff, throw it in the freezer to kill off any eggs or just throw it all out and start off fresh. The bugs probably came in through the flour you bought. I would recommend taking the new stuff and throwing in the freezer for a week before storing in the cupboard. Also, use large ziplocks or plastic bags to store the products individually, sort of like a quarantine for each package.

How to you calculate linear feet when calculating for cupboards?

why do not you just have a sales person come out and get 3 or 4 bids. watch how they do it so you will know how

How to clean old smelling wooden cupboards?

You might want to head down to your local hardware store and get a tin of vanish, cheap and makes old wood new.smells beter too. Before you do that, I strongly recommend you check each cupboard for rotten wood. it could be a bigger issue you do not want on your hands.

7 tips to organise a bathroom cupboard

This post is sponsored by Dettol Bathroom vanities can be small and compact, with needing to store so much in them it makes it hard to keep it tidy and organised. Read further for my 7 tips to organise a bathroom cupboard, along with an organised makeover I did on my friends bathroom. A friend of mine was frustrated with her bathroom, she struggled to find what she wanted, the bathroom cupboard lacked good storage and the clutter had found its way on top of her vanity. I was happy to help, much like a girl in a candy store to organise her bathroom to make it more manageable. Take everything out of the cupboards, as you do this sort (as described below) and throw out anything that you no longer need, use or is out of date such as: Bottles of shampoo, soap or lotions that have too little to save in it Colour of makeup you will not wear Lotions, shampoo, styling products etc that you will not use Hair styling tools you have not used in over 12 months Toys that are mouldy and you do not have time to clean Things that do not belong in the bathroom cupboard Basket above is from a local dollar discount store, but can also be found at Kmart and Howards Storage World.

As you remove all the items from the shelves organise them into like piles eg. makeup, lotions, shampoo, first-aid etc. This will make it easier for the store and organise process. Wipe over shelves removing all dust and dirt so then you can place storage items and products back onto clean surfaces. By taking all items out of the cupboard and sorting into like piles this will give you a good idea of what storage product you will need to improve the organisation of this space, ie plastic drawers, shelves, baskets etc. Due to lack of storage underneath the bathroom vanity makeup and other daily products were left on top of the vanity. However, my friend would prefer a clutter-free benchtop. After work her hubby put items from his pockets into a box on top of the vanity.

This did not leave much space on top. I found a better storage solution for all her daily products, which I will show you in more detail below. As a visual reminder to keep her vanity top clutter free I decorated it with a sweet smelling diffuser and pretty pot of succulents. I hope that she can look at these to remind her to simply place items back underneath when finished to help keep her bathroom tidy. One product to always have on top of the vanity is handwash.

Dettol Liquid Hand Wash new 'soft on skin' formula leaves your hands soft and moisturised for 3 hours and kills 99.9% of germs. I like how it give my hands a beautiful smell after I walk away from the bathroom. Also available in Foam Handwash and No-touch Refill. I sorted through her hubby's box, finding many items that could be put back into his tool shed and I placed a smaller plastic container on the vanity for his glasses, gloves etc. Using a smaller box means less space to store clutter. Place new storage solutions into cupboard and start organising, remembering to keep like items together.

I have used plastic drawers from Kmart to help organise different items. To make it easier for her to use her daily products I placed them into this plastic insert from Ikea, which can easily be moved to the vanity when in use and then placed back under the bench. Plastic drawers are a great use of space and made storing like items together much easier. Now a dedicated drawer for all new toothpaste, toothbrush etc supplies. Plastic baskets with handles makes it easier to pull the basket in and out and prevents bottles from falling over and making a mess.

Ladies products are discreetly stored in a lidded box, this box is available from The Reject Shop. I placed most of her husbands products that were on top of the vanity, underneath in a storage basket (available from The Reject Shop) so he can easily pull out the basket like a drawer, find what he needs and push back in. In the plastic drawers (available from Kmart) I placed his electric shaver, razors and first aid items. Use small plastic baskets for those products that you use frequently making them easy to get to. You could go that extra step and label each of your baskets, drawers etc to make it easier to find items when you need them.

You could use a label machine or write-on-labels. Now that your space is tidy and organised, do the best you can to keep it that way. 1. If you have not used a product in a year, purge it. 2. Do not place items that do not belong in the bathroom in your cupboard. 3. Store extra supplies like soap, toilet paper in your bathroom cupboards for easy access. The NEW Dettol Soft on Skin Liquid Handwash comes in a range of different fresh fragrances: Lemon & Lime, Aloe Vera, Raspberry & Pomegranate, Vanilla & Coconut and Rose & Berry, they will moisturise and revitalise your hands along with helping to keep the family healthy, killing 99.9% of germs. 4. Make cleaning easy by keeping a caddy of cleaning supplies at easy reach. Read more about the shower cleaning kit here. My friend has a child-safety lock on her bathroom cupboard so she is able to keep them safely out of reach from children.

This bathroom has was a mess, now it's so beautifully tidy and organised! My friend says "I should have done this years ago, I no longer feel guilty or stressed when I open my vanity. I can also see everything I own which means I no longer buy conditioner or hand soap if I do not need it. It's such a great feeling to have a clear surface, it sounds silly but it has a calming effect!" Music to my ears, I had so much fun organising her bathroom cupboard and very thankful she allowed me to photograph the process to share with you all. Hope this helps you to organise your vanity. What is your best tip to keep your bathroom cupboard organised? This post was coordinated by The Remarkables Group and run in accordance with my disclosure policy.