A team of scientists decided to try and make chocolate even more delicious.
They used X-ray machines to analyze it and see how it can help manufactures make better quality chocolate.
The analysis was conducted by a team of scientists from Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, a German research center commonly referred to as DESY.
The researchers examined the structure of chocolate, especially how exactly the fat bloom forms and how can it be avoided from appearing on the chocolate.
Fat bloom is the white powdery layer that appears on chocolate and makes people cringe when they see it, because they think the chocolate has gone bad.
Although fat blooms do not affect the taste of the chocolate, it doesn’t look too yummy.
Because of the white layer that appears on chocolates, many customers complain and the chocolate manufacturer can lose a great deal of money because of it.
Svenja Reinke, a researcher at the Hamburg University of Technology and the study’s lead author, explained that there aren’t many studies about the white fat bloom that appears on chocolates.
Reinke explained why the white fat bloom appears on chocolate, saying that when liquid fats, such as cocoa butter, travel to the surface of the chocolate, it crystallizes.
This process usually occurs when the liquid chocolate was not cooled properly, according to Reinke.
Fat bloom may also form because of ingredients that the chocolate contains, such as nougat or liquid filling. These ingredients can actually accelerate the formation of fat bloom.
Also, fat bloom is more likely to form when the chocolate is stored for a long time in a place where there is a high temperature.
The researchers wanted to see how they can stop the fat bloom from forming on the chocolate, so they analyzed it using an X-ray machine called PETRA III.
The scientists analyzed the chocolate in the form of fine powder and they also examined several mixes of chocolates using X-ray in order to see how exactly fat blooms form.
To understand the process, the scientists added a few drops of sunflower oil to the chocolate samples.
The oil can penetrate the pores of the chocolate and modifies its structure. The oil also helps increase the lipids migration.
Within a couple of hours, the fat dissolved the crystalline lipid structure and changed the chocolate’s texture, softening it.
Prof. Dr. Stefan Palzer, a researcher at Nestle said of the study that it provides:
“solid foundation for developing suitable methods for avoiding one of the most important quality defects in the food industry.”
Image Source: zmescience
