Scientists have used X-rays to scan and analyze weird white stuff that sometimes appears on chocolate in order to find out how to create more quality chocolate products.
According to scientists, liquid fat from chocolate doesn’t always stay put and sometimes it migrates to the surface, crystallizing and forming a fat bloom, that’s completely edible and nothing to worry about, reports the Washington Post.
A team of scientists from Hamburg University of Technology in Germany and german research center DESY and NEstle, used PETRA III, a high-powered X-ray machine, to scan the chocolate in order to learn more about the fat blooming process.
First, they created the chocolate using basic ingredients such as cocoa, milk powder, sugar and cocoa butter. Then they added some sunflower oil to wet the mixture, and it only took seconds for oil to move through the chocolate. After several hours the oil has dissolved the cocoa butter into liquid, forcing the movements of fats to the surface.
The results published in the journal Applied Materials and Interfaces, show that cocoa butter is dissolved by the oil, and therefore, crystalline structure is lost. After investigating the surface before and after exposure to the oil and comparing it to water exposure, the scientists have reached a conclusion that water physically migrates through the chocolate and dissolves cocoa powder, sucrose and milk powder.
[quote text_size=”small” author=”– Stefan Palzer” author_title=”Study co-author and Nestlé scientist”]
Even though the fat bloom isn’t a sign of any decline in quality of product, the visual alteration associated with it can lead to a large number of customer complaints. That’s why fat bloom continues to be the center of our research and one of the most important quality defects in the confectionery industry.
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According to American Chemistry Society, the study’s findings are the first step toward avoiding dreaded chocolate bloom.
In other food related news here on Immortal News, researchers from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania claim using grocery lists while shopping can help maintain healthy weight.
