It’s Easter again and shops in many countries are full of chocolate eggs and other gooey, chocolate-based treats. But why is it that certain tropical countries like Nigeria consume only small amounts of chocolate, despite producing most of the world’s cocoa? Indeed, nearly 70% of cocoa is grown in West Africa and the rest in Central and South America and Asia.
One of the main reasons is that the high tropical temperatures make chocolate lose its form while being transported within these areas. The chocolate can also undergo a “bloom formation” – a mouldy-looking white coating that forms on the surface resulting from an increase in temperature, which makes storing chocolate a problem.
But, once again, physics is providing a solution. Scientists have been looking at ways to create a “thermo-resistant” chocolate that holds its form and still tastes just right. And it looks like O Ogunwolu and CO Jayeola, food scientists at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria have finally managed it, and just in time for Easter too. They found that adding varying amounts of cornstarch and gelatin to chocolate ensured that the chocolate melted at about 40–50 °C, instead of its normal melting point at about 25–33 °C. And the best bit is that, by all accounts, it still looks and tastes like normal chocolate!
http://physicsworld.com/blog/2011/04/sticky_fingers_no_more.html
No, thanks. I want chocolate to melt in my mouth just as soon as it does now and I don't want cornstarch and gelatin in there. But I guess those warm countries might need it.
One of the main reasons is that the high tropical temperatures make chocolate lose its form while being transported within these areas. The chocolate can also undergo a “bloom formation” – a mouldy-looking white coating that forms on the surface resulting from an increase in temperature, which makes storing chocolate a problem.
But, once again, physics is providing a solution. Scientists have been looking at ways to create a “thermo-resistant” chocolate that holds its form and still tastes just right. And it looks like O Ogunwolu and CO Jayeola, food scientists at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria have finally managed it, and just in time for Easter too. They found that adding varying amounts of cornstarch and gelatin to chocolate ensured that the chocolate melted at about 40–50 °C, instead of its normal melting point at about 25–33 °C. And the best bit is that, by all accounts, it still looks and tastes like normal chocolate!
http://physicsworld.com/blog/2011/04/sticky_fingers_no_more.html
No, thanks. I want chocolate to melt in my mouth just as soon as it does now and I don't want cornstarch and gelatin in there. But I guess those warm countries might need it.
