Even when you’re serious about losing weight, sometimes, even if it’s only for your own personal sense of wellbeing, you need a little taste of chocolate. However, thanks to scientists at the University of Warwick, you can have your chocolatey treat and cut the damage you cause to your diet and wellness by half.
Scientists have discovered a way to halve chocolate’s fat content without compromising on flavor or texture. Due to new technology, manufacturers will now be able to replace up to 50% of the fat with fruit juice, vitamin C, water or diet cola. According to Stefan A. F. Bon, from the University of Warwick, ‘This approach maintains the things that make chocolate ‘chocolatey’, but with fruit juice instead of fat. Now we’re hoping the food industry will take the next steps and use the technology to make tasty, lower-fat chocolate bars and other candy.’
Dr Bon explained that the reason the chocolate can still retain its velvety texture is because the juice is in the form of micro-bubbles, which also helps to prevent “sugar bloom”. This is the white film that you may have seen on the surface of chocolate that has been on the shelf for a while. The chocolate fat-halving process also involves agar; a gelling agent which makes tiny “sponges” that displace fat.
Dr Bon, who unveiled his research at a meeting of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society, noted that the technology is effective with dark, milk and white chocolate, and his team at the University of Warwick has manages to infuse chocolate with apple, orange and cranberry juice. He explained, ‘Fruit juice-infused candy tastes like an exciting hybrid between traditional chocolate and a chocolate-juice confectionary. Since the juice is spread out in the chocolate, it doesn’t overpower the taste of the chocolate.’
Chocolate is an emulsion of cocoa butter and water or milk combined with cocoa powder, but the downside of chocolate is its high fat and sugar content. A 60g serving of premium dark chocolate, for example may contain 13 grams of fat or 20% of your total recommended daily fair intake. Unfortunately, most of this is unhealthy, saturated fat. However, Dr Bon said, not only does the new technology cut this unhealthy fat content in half, but substituting fruit juice or cola also reduces the overall sugar content of the chocolate.
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