Chocolate Shelf Life

lovelybride614

I'm not saying we want to get them now as we have a little over a year until our wedding. We just weren't sure when to start getting the chocolate for our favors. We are doing the Hershey's kisses with the labels and mints for favors. We don't know how soon is too soon. I was thinking maybe around Easter but that would be April and we're not getting married til August. But we don't want to wait until the "last minute" and be scrambling to get what we want. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated

kmmssg

8 1/2 yrs ago my DD had a candy buffet.  I called the customer service line for the manufacturers to see how long the shelf life of each candy was, including Hershey's.  I can't remember what they said, but if you call them they will tell you how to read the date code on the bag for freshness, what the shelf life is, and how to store it properly (cool, dark place and NEVER EVER EVER in the fridge or freezer).

itzMS

lovelybride614 said:

I'm not saying we want to get them now as we have a little over a year until our wedding. We just weren't sure when to start getting the chocolate for our favors. We are doing the Hershey's kisses with the labels and mints for favors. We don't know how soon is too soon. I was thinking maybe around Easter but that would be April and we're not getting married til August. But we don't want to wait until the "last minute" and be scrambling to get what we want. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated

Not to be a naysayer, but let's be real...Hershey's kisses are sold at every store on God's green earth.

You could honestly go the day before and have everything you'd need.

I'd rather do it last minute (like, the week before) and treat my guests to fresh candy versus chancing it being stale.

lovelybride614

Thank you both for the advice. We prob should wait until a couple of weeks out.

tammym1001

Chocolate is good for quite a bit of time. I wouldn't get it more than a couple months before though because you can never be sure how long it's been on the shelf. The only other thing I would add is be careful how you store it. You want it in a cool place so it doesn't melt, but not in the refrigerator because it will get a white coating on it that is harmless, but looks bad.

Bookie7

Chocolate can last a longer period of time, but if you're planning on having other candy (gummy worms, bubble gum, skittles, etc) I'd hold off until about 1 month to a few weeks before the date.

sororitygal

The shelf life of any candy is 3-4 months if it is individually wrapped and you store it in a cool and dry place.

WildMagelet

According to Hersheys their shelf life is up to 1 year if they are stored in a cool dark place.

The best-buy code is at the end of the stamped code on the package and is a letter and a number.  The number represents the year and the letter represents the month A = Jan, B= Feb, etc.

lovelybride614

Awesome ladies! Thank you so much. We want to wait a lot longer, I was just curious in general. I think the 1-2 month range may be best because like one PP said, you don't know how long it's already been on the shelf. We decided on York Peppermint Pieces since we love mints and they match our colors & then the Hershey's kisses. Anyway, enough rambling, I appreciate your help.