Chocolate that melts only in the mouth
thanks to researchers at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria
(CRIN).
Manufacturers in the confectionery industry have made various attempts to produce a chocolate which doesn't melt in hot conditions but tests in the past have failed as the resulting taste is usually unpalatable.
But the results of taste tests published recently in the British Journal of Food (volume 108), showed a positive response to the efforts of the Nigerian food scientists, S.O Ogunwolu and C.O Jayeola, who created the chocolate.
The product was judged slightly less sweet than normal milk chocolate but is reported to compare "favourably with conventional milk chocolate in terms of colour, taste, smoothness and overall acceptability."
Scientists created the heat-resistant chocolate by mixing cornstarch with cocoa and found that it could keep its shape up to temperatures of 40C to 50C, compared with the 25C to 33C melting point of standard chocolate.
Tests were carried out in two stages, the first involved mixing cornstarch with cocoa in proportions of 2.5 per cent, 5 per cent, 7.5 per cent and 10 per cent.
In the second phase, gelatin was added to the mixture in the same quantities.
It was found that with a 10 per cent quantity of both gelatin and starch, the cocoa butter fat naturally contained in cocoa beans did not melt as quickly.
Gelatin and starch act as a thickener in the recipe, published in full in the Journal research paper.
The researchers hope that their work will facilitate "the wide distribution, display and consumption of chocolate in the tropics, especially Nigeria."
In Nigeria, tropical heat means that stored chocolate is vulnerable to fat bloom - a white powder on the surface of the chocolate which forms when there are changes in its structure, as caused by the melting process. The bloom does not affect the taste of the chocolate but its appearance is unacceptable to consumers.
In the future, chocolate such as the one created by the Institute could prove a successful export for confectionery manufacturers looking to increase their market share in the tropics where the product is susceptible to fat bloom and shape distortion caused by heat.
