Science has found the key to making the ‘perfect chocolate’ – El Sol de Toluca

Scientists at Canada’s University of Guelph claim to have found a way to make “perfect chocolate” that simplifies the traditional tempering process.

The group of researchers found that adding a major fat component of cocoa butter to melted chocolate helped it firm up and give it a “perfect, simple and inexpensive” texture.

The research work was published in the journal Nature Communications, with which it is possible to simplify and revolutionize the manufacture of this product, which is not easy in the traditional way because the properties of high-quality chocolate depend on the crystal structures of butter.cocoa.

High-quality chocolate requires “hardening,” a time-consuming process in which the chocolate slowly heats and cools several times to get the fatty acid crystals in cocoa butter into a stable form.

Typically, chocolate makers use “seeds” during the tempering process to enhance chocolate crystallization, which typically consists of pieces or grids of already-diluted chocolate that act as magnets to attract and align the loose fatty acid crystals, the EFE article explains.

The team led by Alejandro Marangoni, author of the study, attempted to simplify the process by finding a component that could more easily help form the correct crystal structure, which is why they tested several components found naturally in cocoa butter and chose a specific molecule, saturated phospholipid, the “seeds” of cocoa butter’s crystal formation. Occasion.

They found that adding phospholipids to melted chocolate and cooling it rapidly accelerated crystallization without the need for tempering; The resulting product had an ideal microstructure, with perfect gloss and surface resistance.

To confirm their findings, the researchers used synchrotron technology (a type of particle accelerator) from the University of Saskatchewan and bright light from the facility, and imaged the inner microstructure of the chocolate in detail, confirming the positive effect its component had on the structure.