Audio By Carbonatix
Chocoholics have been looking for the answer for years: Chocolate + ? = Cellulite-free thighs.
We just never thought chemists would be the ones to solve the equation.
Researchers in the United Kingdom have managed to cut the amount of fat needed to make chocolate in half, without losing any of the dessert’s delectable-ness. Their trade secrets were published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry this week.
The new chocolate formula contains small droplets of fruit juice, explains lead study author Dr. Stefan Bon. These droplets can replace up to 50% of the triglyceride fats found in cocoa butter and milk, similar to the way air bubbles reduce the density of Aero chocolate bars.
Apparently the optimal size for these bubbles is less than 30 micrometers – allowing the fat to be replaced without losing the proper chemical structure.
“It's the fat that gives chocolate all the indulgent sensations that people crave – the silky smooth texture and the way it melts in the mouth but still has a 'snap' to it when you break it with your hand,” Bon said in a press release. "We've found a way to maintain all of those things that make chocolate 'chocolatey' but with fruit juice instead of fat.”
Bon and his chemistry colleagues at the University of Warwick used a process called Pickering emulsion to infuse orange juice, cranberry juice and de-carbonated soft drinks into milk, dark and white chocolate.
(Emulsion is the mixing of two liquids that can’t be mixed – like oil and water. Pickering emulsion occurs when solid particles are added to keep the mixture in place, rather than having them separate out naturally.)
While the texture of the new product feels the same as regular chocolate, Bon told CNN in an e-mail, the taste is understandably a bit fruity. In the future scientists could use water with a small amount of vitamin C to replace the fruit juice flavor.
The study is just the first step to healthier chocolate - the food industry still needs to jump on board the fruit juice train.
“The process for introducing the droplets is easy,” Bon wrote. “It would be great if the technology will lead to new innovative chocolate-based products.”
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Tags:
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Latest Stories
-
Afenyo-Markin demands Interior Minister brief Parliament over security recruitment expansion
4 hours -
Felicia Boadu inspires gratitude with new song ‘Aseda’
4 hours -
Conflict of interest and the President’s use of a private jet: A constitutional perspective
4 hours -
Otto Addo names Black Stars squad for Austria and Germany friendlies
5 hours -
Rev. Stephen Wengam urges leaders to embrace ‘servant leadership’ to transform national institutions
5 hours -
Ghana Development Awards spotlight need for intentional socio-economic transformation
5 hours -
The Private Jet Debate: When generosity becomes an alleged “Scandal”
5 hours -
IGP Cyber Vetting arrests 20-year-old woman for false publication on social media
5 hours -
Overall government debt in sub-Saharan Africa stabilises but at high level – IMF
5 hours -
We will file an appeal against Freddie Blay’s remand – Lawyer
6 hours -
Tema crash: Safety record of microlight aircraft ‘very poor’ – Aviation expert
6 hours -
Only 5% of CHPS compound in Ghana are well tooled – Agotime Ziope MP
6 hours -
PwC Ghana , UGBS call on women to embrace collaboration and take up leadership roles
6 hours -
‘My mother cried out one last time’: Palestinian boy, 12, describes how Israeli forces killed his family in car
6 hours -
National Seed System Reset Programme launched at University of Ghana to boost 24-hour economy
6 hours
