NEW SPECIAL PROCESSING TECHNIQUE TRANSFORMS MELTED CHOCOLATE INTO FINE, SNOW-LIKE POWDER

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NEW SPECIAL PROCESSING TECHNIQUE TRANSFORMS MELTED CHOCOLATE INTO FINE, SNOW-LIKE POWDER
23 September 2004 - Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.

A special processing technique transforms melted chocolate into fine, snow-like powder. What makes it unique is that liquid aromas can be encapsulated in the globules of chocolate, even though these particles are only a few micrometers in diameter.

In future, a fine powder could enhance the flavor of hot cocoa and add other aromas to it. A team of researchers working with Professor Eckhard Weidner has developed a method of encapsulating liquids in strewable chocolate powder. Only a few micrometers in diameter, the chocolate globules hold tiny drops of aroma or even high-proof liquors inside them and can be stored just like normal bars of chocolate. "Up to now, it has never been possible to incorporate liquid aromas in chocolate in such a way that the product could be further processed as a powder," says Weidner who holds the chair of Process Technology at the Institute of Thermo- and Fluid Dynamics at the Ruhr University of Bochum and was recently appointed director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety, and Energy Technology UMSICHT.

The method by which the scientists have now succeeded in doing so is known as "particles from gas saturated solutions". To produce aromatized chocolate powder by this method, the researchers mix melted chocolate with a liquid aroma, at the same time inserting carbon dioxide gas under high pressure. Next, they force the mixture through a nozzle into a container whose interior is held at normal atmospheric pressure. The carbon dioxide instantly expands, vaporizing the melted chocolate into tiny droplets. The expansion entails a cooling process which causes the chocolate droplets to solidify immediately, enclosing the liquid aroma inside them. The higher the gas pressure, the finer the powder. In this way, applying pressures between 30 and 150 bar, the researchers can produce tiny particles with a diameter of 10 to 200 micrometers. One advantage of this technique is that the aromas do not evaporate because they are instantly cooled to about five degrees or lower when the gas expands. And better still, the carbon dioxide atmosphere prevents the flavoring agents from oxidizing.

There are not yet any products that contain the chocolate powder, but Weidner can think of numerous ways of using it. He has already tried out some of his original ideas, such as combining the powder with fresh fruit. "Because the powder is so fine, it adheres to the pieces of fruit when they are dipped in. Then it suddenly melts while you are eating, and you have your whole mouth full of chocolate and fruit." An explosion of flavor, he assures, coupled with a subtle cooling effect as the particles melt. Whilst the latter is not likely to enhance one's enjoyment of hot cocoa, it could certainly lend desserts that certain exclusive touch.

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About: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.
The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft undertakes applied research of direct utility to private and public enterprise and of wide benefit to society. Its services are solicited by customers and contractual partners in industry, the service sector and public administration. The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft maintains over 80 research units at more than 40 different locations throughout Germany. A staff of some 12,700, predominantly qualified scientists and engineers, works with an annual research budget of over one billion euros. Of this sum, more than € 900 million is generated through contract research. Two thirds of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft’s contract research revenue is derived from contracts with industry and from publicly financed research projects. The remaining one third is contributed by the German federal and Länder governments, as a means of enabling the institutes to pursue more fundamental research in areas that are likely to become relevant to industry and society in five or ten years’ time.

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