Why does chocolate melt in our mouths? Scientists decode the process

Scientists have decoded the physical process that takes place in the mouth when a piece of chocolate is eaten as it changes from a solid into a smooth emulsion that many people find totally irresistibleBy analysing each of the steps the interdisciplinary research team at the University of Leeds hopes it will lead to the development of a new generation of luxury chocolates that will have the same feel and texture but will be healthier to consumeDuring the moments it is in the mouth the chocolate sensation arises from the way the chocolate is lubricated either from ingredients in the chocolate itself or from saliva or a combination of the twoFat plays a key function almost immediately when a piece of chocolate is in contact with the tongue After that solid cocoa particles are released and they become important in terms of the tactile sensation so fat deeper inside the chocolate plays a rather limited role and could be reduced without having an impact on the feel or sensation of chocolateAnwesha Sarkar Professor of Colloids and Surfaces in the School of Food Science and Nutrition at Leeds said Lubrication science gives mechanistic insights into how food actually feels in the mouth You can use that knowledge to design food with better taste texture or health benefitsIf a bar of chocolate has 537 fat or 5037 fat it will still form droplets in the mouth and that gives you the chocolate sensation However it is the location of the fat in the makeup of the chocolate which matters in each stage of lubrication and that has been rarely researchedWe are showing that the fat layer needs to be on the outer layer of the chocolate this matters the most followed by an effective coating of the cocoa particles by fat these help to make chocolate feel so goodThe study published in the scientific journal ACS Applied Materials and Interface did not investigate the question of how chocolate tastes Instead the investigation focused on its feel and textureTests were conducted using a luxury brand of dark chocolate on an artificial 3D tonguelike surface that was designed at the University of Leeds The researchers used analytical techniques from a field of engineering called tribology to conduct the study which included in situ imagingTribology is about how surfaces and fluids interact the levels of friction between them and the role of lubrication in this case saliva or liquids from the chocolate Those mechanisms are all happening in the mouth when chocolate is eatenWhen chocolate is in contact with the tongue it releases a fatty film that coats the tongue and other surfaces in the mouth It is this fatty film that makes the chocolate feel smooth throughout the entire time it is in the mouthDr Siavash Soltanahmadi from the School of Food Science and Nutrition at Leeds and the lead researcher in the study said With the understanding of the physical mechanisms that happen as people eat chocolate we believe that the next generation of chocolate can be developed that offers the feel and sensation of highfat chocolate yet is a healthier choiceOur research opens the possibility that manufacturers can intelligently design dark chocolate to reduce the overall fat contentWe believe dark chocolate can be produced in a gradientlayered architecture with fat covering the surface of chocolates and particles to offer the soughtafter selfindulging experience without adding too much fat inside the body of the chocolateRead More Want a onebowl meal Mumbai chefs share these easy recipes to enjoy this winterThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever