How long will milk chocolate for baking stay good in the freezer?

[visciole]

A store near me has a really good sale on a brand of chocolate I like to bake with. Only milk, no dark :(. The "best by" date is early November. With chocolate so expensive I would like to buy a bunch and put it in the freezer but I'm not sure how long it will last. Thanks.

[kseiverd]

I kinda think chocolate is one of those foods that lasts "forever"?? That film that eventually forms on chocolate... doesn't effect the flavor. When semi-sweet chips go on sale (around the holidays) I stock up. I just keep them in a large air-tight container in my "pantry"... shelves in my attached garage. Don't think chocolate can actually "go bad"?? I'd just keep it in an air-tight container and in a place where it won't get too warm. It's one of those items I don't think I've EVER looked at the lable for a date??

[visciole]

I thought since it has milk in it, it might be different than dark chocolate.

[todao]

Dark chocolate will last in a well ventilated pantry for about a year; sometimes as long as a year and a half. Chocolate contains fat but, unlike butter, doesn't go rancid (it's a flavonoid thing). However, the "milk" in Milk chocolate reduces it's shelf life to somewhere in the range of six months; sometimes a little longer but not as long as a year. The more milk there is in the milk chocolate the shorter it's shelf life will be.

[visciole]

Given that I will use it for baking and don't care about the bloom, how long would you think it would stay OK in the freezer?

[todao]

I would probably figure a year, if it's well sealed in an evacuated air tight container. But then that's about all the time I typically give to frozen foods because even at below zero temperatures they tend to suffer in texture and/or flavor. I'd also thaw in the refrigerator for a couple of days rather than leaving out at room temperature for that purpose.
But that's more intuitive than scientific on my part. Your results may vary.

[visciole]

OK, thanks for the advice. They are chips in a sealed bag -- would you leave them in the bag, or re-package?

[todao]

Chocolate of any variety does not freeze well. When chocolate is frozen you can expect it to "bloom" (develop a white film on its surface) when thawed. However, if it's only going to be used for baking, it might be worth a try.