Sugar is being replaced by a puree made from the pulp and husks of cocoa pods
Healthier, more environmentally friendly chocolate could hit store shelves after Swiss scientists and chocolatiers developed a recipe that replaces sugar plant waste.
< p>According to the report, by grinding the pulp and husks of cocoa pods, rather than simply taking the beans, the scientists created a sweet and fibrous gel that could replace the sugar in chocolate.
Researchers found that this approach to making «whole» products» produces a more nutritious product than regular chocolate and uses less water.
«The cocoa fruit is essentially a pumpkin, and now we only use the seeds, — explains Kim Mishra. — But this fruit has many other wonderful properties.»
The researchers used the pulp and juice of the cocoa fruit to make a gel that can be added to chocolate instead of the traditionally used powdered sugar. As a general rule, “adding moisture to chocolate is completely useless because you are essentially ruining it.” Mishra points out that they violated one of the most sacred rules of chocolate making. He added that the findings could make chocolate healthier and more environmentally friendly, as well as give farmers a new source of income.
The study found that in laboratory conditions, the new method used 6 percent less land and water, but increased planet-warming emissions by 12 percent because it required an additional drying step that consumed large amounts of energy. But by scaling up the process and drying the pulp in the sun or using solar panels, they found that greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced.
Alejandro Marangoni, from the department of food sciences at the University of Guelph in Canada, said the study was «pretty comprehensive.» a proposal that now needs to be tested through a pilot project.
Farmers in tropical countries often receive only a small share of the profits generated by the $100 billion chocolate industry. Since the processing of the pulp must take place in countries where cocoa is grown, Marangoni says the greatest benefits will be received there.
Chocolate — One of the most polluting foods a person can eat, it ranks on par with some meats in terms of greenhouse gas emissions per kilogram of product. Mishra and his colleagues decided to reduce the amount of waste in the production process and found that they could also make it healthier.
But for chocolate lovers, the bittersweet discovery is that the new product lacks the ability to finely «taste tuning» that the industry prizes for powdered sugar.
«The sweetness of the gel is comparable, but does not reach the same level. When preparing this chocolate, it is important to maintain a balance – if you add too much sweetening gel, your chocolate will not be suitable for processing; if you don't add enough, your chocolate won't be sweet enough,” — explains the technologist.
Despite this, he emphasized that the chocolate made in the laboratory was “essentially identical” to the chocolate produced in the laboratory. dark chocolate is similar in texture and taste to aromatic dark chocolate from South America.