Scientists replace fat in chocolate with fruit juice

Scientists use amazing new chemical procedure to create a healthier chocolate bar with half the amount of fat as the regular treat.

It’s good news for chocoholics today who could soon enjoy their daily guilty pleasure without worrying about the effect on their waistlines. Scientists from the University of Warwick have found an innovative new way to halve the fat content in the ultimate sweet treat.

The team has spent months perfecting a recipe that replaces the fat in regular chocolate with fruit juice and apparently it still feels like chocolate in the mouth – though it does taste a little fruity, too.

“Everyone loves chocolate – but unfortunately we all know that many chocolate bars are high in fat,” said Dr Stefan Bon, lead author of the study from the Department of Chemistry at the university.

“However it’s the fat that gives chocolate all the indulgent sensations that people crave – the silky smooth texture and the way it melts in the mouth but still has a ‘snap’ to it when you break it with your hand.

“We’ve found a way to maintain all of those things that make chocolate ‘chocolatey’ but with fruit juice instead of fat.”

The scientists took out most of the cocoa butter and milk fat that go into chocolate bars and replaced them with tiny droplets of juice.

They infused orange and cranberry juice into different types of chocolate replacing up to 50 per cent of the chocolate’s fat content.

Now Dr Bon says it’s up to the food industry to test out his revolutionary new formula.

“Our study is just the starting point to healthier chocolate – we’ve established the chemistry behind this new technique but now we’re hoping the food industry will take our method to make tasty, lower-fat chocolate bars,” he said.

Caron Leckie, nutritionist from leading delivered diet company, Diet Chef, "In the UK we are probably consuming a bit too much chocolate however you don't have to completely deny yourself chocolate, in moderation it can be part of a healthy, balanced diet. Research suggests that cutting out foods completely is usually counter-productive, leading to food binges and eventually higher intakes than what we would have had in the first instance"

ENDS

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