A team of researchers collaborated to explore the possibility of simplifying the complex process of chocolate production without compromising on its quality.
The commercial production of chocolate involves a multi-step process to achieve the perfect snap and melt-in-the-mouth texture.
The researchers aimed to simplify this process by adding specific phospholipids to chocolate, which influences its nano and microstructure, creating a product comparable to high-quality commercially tempered chocolate.
Coca butter, a major component of chocolate, must crystallise in a specific way, known as a V polymorph, to achieve the perfect glossy look and creamy texture. This form can be influenced by external factors such as temperature, shear, pressure, and time. Phospholipids, a class of lipids with an attached phosphate group, also influence the chocolate form.
The team’s previous research demonstrated that specific phospholipids could promote the formation of the form V polymorph coca butter crystals in chocolate without the need for complex tempering procedures.
In this recent study, the researchers analysed the structure of a type of fat molecule called 1,2-dimyrsitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DMPC) in chocolate and cocoa butter. They used different methods, including a way to scatter tiny particles and measuring temperatures, to study it. They found that DMPC is good at helping shape the chocolate in the way they want during the chocolate-making process.
However, the team also observed some side effects of DMPC on chocolate. Using synchrotron microcomputed tomography and small-angle X-ray scattering measurements, it showed increased cracking in chocolate that forms big, imperfect crystals, and lots of tiny strains, which then grow into a big crack. It was concluded that DMPC can help in making the chocolate production process simpler, but it also causes some issues like creating cracks.
The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Guelph, the Canadian Light Source, Institute Laue-Langevin (ILL), the National Research for Agriculture, Food and the Environment in France, and STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source.
“Unfortunately, the observed cracks means that DMPC does not perfectly simplify the chocolate tempering process,” says Alejandro Marangoni, from the University of Guelph. He adds; “although it is a promising compound for tempering chocolate, more recent work suggests that a similar phospholipid molecule to DMPC can temper chocolate without leading to crack formation, as it incorporates better within the cocoa butter crystalline lattice. Another visit to ISIS is warranted!”
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