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I found a bag of chocolate chips in the back of a cabinet that's well past the 'best use by' date and showing signs of bloom.

From experience, I know that it won't melt right, and has a tendancy to be a bit grainy if used as-is. Is there something that I can do to revive it?

If there isn't, are there recipes where it the bloom isn't a problem?

(and before you say 'crush it up and put it over ice cream' ... I thought of that, but I can't eat dairy)

Joe
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I don't know of a way to revive old chocolate, however you can use them in applications where baking isn't necessary, like refrigerator cookies, rice crispy treats, or cereal bars.

Keep in mind that these things will only be as good as the ingredients, so if your chocolate doesn't taste good it's best to chuck it.

GdD
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What exactly goes wrong when you try to melt it? To the best of my knowledge, this really is the only recourse you have: chocolate blooms when the fat and/or sugar separates, and melting it all down is the only way (as far as I know) to incorporate everything back together.

The only recipes where bloom might not be a problem (and that don't involve melting it down) are the recipes where you don't mind (or can't taste) grainy, solid pieces of chocolate. I'd really just try melting it (in butter or some other liquid, if that helps) and seeing how it turns out in a cake.

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    Actually, I've never tried melting it in a double boiler ... only in cookies and cookie bars (I have a recipe where the heat from the cookie bar melts the chocolate ... but it's insufficient, even if you then put it back in a low oven for an hour) ... the chocolate itself is more like powder when you try to break it up. – Joe Sep 13 '14 at 17:09