Better Chocolate Through Science — New Technology Cuts Fat in Half!

Chocolate. It tastes good, and more than one study reports it’s good for you. Chocolate is believed to help circulation, and a new study suggests it could even assist brain function. There’s just one problem: Chocolate has a very high fat content. But a new technique for making the sweet treat may reduce the fat content by half. Problem solved.

Researchers at England’s University of Warwick have developed a procedure that replaces cocoa butter and milk fats with very small droplets of orange and cranberry juice. The droplets [about one-one thousandths of an inch in diameter!] are then prevented from combining into larger drops. The new technique helps chocolate feel and melt like the high-fat version. A bonus of the new procedure is that the candy no longer gets the discoloration known as “sugar bloom” when it’s stored for long periods of time.

The only apparent problem is that the chocolate takes on the flavor of the fruit juice it’s mixed with. But The Warwick researchers bypassed the problem by using a mix of water and a small amount of Vitamin C.

No word yet on when, or if any candy manufacturers will try the new procedure.

[CBSNews.com]