It’s the smoothness of chocolate in the mouth that makes it so irresistible (Credit: Pixabay) © ANSA/Ansa
The secret that makes chocolate irresistible lies in the physics that regulates its melting in the mouth: in fact, the pleasantness on the palate depends on the lubrication determined by the fats of the chocolate itself, as well as by saliva. The University of Leeds discovery is published in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces and paves the way for the creation of a lower-fat and healthier, but equally satisfying, chocolate.
Laboratory tests, performed on a 3D artificial surface similar to a tongue, show that every time we taste a piece of chocolate, the change in state from solid to emulsified sends us into ecstasy. Fats play a crucial role in the first phase of the process as the chocolate comes into contact with the tongue, but after that the release of solid cocoa particles determines a large part of the tactile sensation. The fats in the deepest layers play a marginal role and could therefore be reduced without changing the pleasant melting feeling of the chocolate.
“If the chocolate is 5% or 50% fat, it still forms droplets in your mouth and that gives you the chocolate sensation. However, explains physicist Anwesha Sarkar, where the fat is located in the chocolate is important at every stage of lubrication, and this has rarely been studied. We demonstrate that the layer of fat must be on the outside of the chocolate, which is most important, followed by an effective coating of the cocoa particles by the fat that helps the chocolate taste so good.”
Thanks to this discovery, it will be possible to develop new recipes to obtain a chocolate that is healthier and just as pleasant, but not only. The physical techniques used in the study could also be applied to other foods that undergo a phase change in the mouth, such as ice cream, margarine or cheese.
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