Hi Sam, I brought some insulated boxes from Makro. They are quite large and relatively cheap @ £20 each I’ve had them for about a year now and they still look brand new.

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Originally posted by samdotthompson

I am attending a Show in London in June and planning to take chocolate products with me to display and sell. I am very concerned about the potential temperature in my car during this 1-2 hour drive and would be very grateful for any advice on the best way to transport chocolate in a car?

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This might be overkill but, for absolute safety, do the following.

Pack the chocolates in a box.
Wrap the box in wool. Anything will do: wool jumper, or small wool blanket, or whatever. But insist upon wool.
Put the wrapped box into a larger box with an ice pack or 2 in it (i.e. in the larger box). If this box is insulated so much the better but as you’ll soon see this will matter little.
Wrap the whole assembly in foil.
In turn wrap this in a down blanket (best) a down coat or jacket (next best) or a wool blanket (also works well)

Place in the boot of the car, right in the centre and pressed up against the seats, lying flat against the floor of the boot (this is the coolest place in the car. It’s best if you have a car with no windows in the boot area, or a cover over it. If not cover with a box, or cardboard sheet, or anything that provides a good sun shield. Surround the whole with non-metal items, ideally things like blankets, sleeping bags, or whatever.

By packing like this you will essentially ensure the chocolates’ survival come what conditions may. I have kept ice cream frozen for a day on one occasion, and on another kept a slab of short ribs completely cool (fridge temp) for 2 days in a car under 36 degree (Celsius) temperatures. I’ve transported chocolate reliably using this method more times than I care to count.

You can progressively get rid of layers depending on how obsessive you want to be and how challenging you expect the weather to be. For instance, in normal 20 degree weather, the box/wool/box combination is usually enough for medium durations. Foiling has a big effect if it’s expected to be brilliantly sunny all day. And then as conditions get riskier and your time unattended gets greater you keep adding protection.

Alex Rast
Alex_Rast_Alternate@hushmail.com