According to study author, this chocolate will only be first in long line of "functional meals" or treats created with health...
Many people find it unsettling how much technology is becoming a part of our daily lives, but low-fat chocolate is one of the futuristic inventions from a Rutgers food scientist that we can all embrace.
A novel low-fat chocolate made with a 3D printer is being introduced by Qingrong Huang, a professor in the Department of Food Science at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. Even better, one can choose "pretty much any" shape for this new, healthier chocolate.
According to Prof. Huang, this chocolate will only be the first in a long line of "functional meals" or treats created specifically with health benefits in mind. The ultimate objective is to increase modern customers' access to healthier chocolate. Huang and his team are already developing low-sugar and sugar-free variations of healthy chocolate.
The study team succeeded in developing and printing a low-fat chocolate-producing mixture by swapping out fatty cocoa butter for a water-in-oil emulsion that has a lower fat content, they explained in their study published in the journal Food Hydrocolloids.
“Everybody likes to eat chocolate, but we are also concerned with our health,” Prof. Huang says in a university release. “To address this, we have created a chocolate that is not only low-fat, but that can also be printed with a 3D printer. It’s our first ‘functional’ chocolate.”
Emulsions are made by dissolving two immiscible liquids into tiny droplets. Unless a third, stabilising element (an emulsifier) binds them together, the two liquids normally separate fast during this process, as is the case, for instance, with oil and vinegar.
A variety of different emulsifiers are typically combined with cocoa butter, cocoa powder, and powdered sugar to create traditional chocolate candies.
In order to establish the ideal ratio of liquid to solid for 3D printing, the study team tested several ingredient ratios for a common chocolate recipe. Researchers developed a water-in-cocoa-butter emulsion held together by gum arabic, an extract of the acacia tree extensively used in the food sector, in an effort to reduce the amount of fat in the mixture. To improve the flavour, they combined the emulsion with golden syrup before adding it to the other ingredients.
Prof. Huang says that chocolate is a substance with a lot to offer and not just its taste. Researchers were able to examine the physical qualities of the printed chocolate using a variety of cutting-edge techniques that made it possible to examine the molecular structure and physical characteristics of chocolate.
More specifically, according to Prof. Huang, they sought for the best texture and smoothness "for a satisfying mouthfeel" and the ideal viscosity level for printing. Researchers tried various alternative water-to-oil ratios and varied the proportions of all the key elements before settling on one particular concoction.
The main goal of 3D printing is to turn a computer model into a physical thing by rapidly adding layers of material. An app on a phone can be used to programme the 3D printer and the forms it creates.
“3D food printing technology enables the development of customised edible products with tailored taste, shape and texture as well as optimal nutrition based on consumer needs,” Prof. Huang concluded.