A chocolate that exploits the full potential of the cocoa fruit
Thai researchers have partnered with the food industry to produce a variety of chocolate made from whole fruits. This variety helps increase the added value of cocoa farming , while also being healthier.
For many, chocolate is a sweet treat: its main components are cocoa mass and cocoa butter, which are extracted from the cocoa fruit . What is less well known, however, is that the cocoa fruit contains other valuable ingredients that have been underutilized until now.
Researchers have joined forces with the chocolate industry to explore the potential for maximum utilization of the cocoa fruit, which would increase the profitability of cocoa farming while making chocolate a healthier pleasure.
As part of a Thai project, a research team led by Professor Emeritus Oth Sombath from Ayutthaya City collaborated with the start-up KKO , which is dedicated to the sustainable cultivation of cocoa fruits , and Thai chocolate manufacturer to develop a recipe for cocoa fruit chocolate.
The discovery of the perfect recipe
Professor Oth Sombath explains that the cocoa fruit is similar to the watermelon: "These fruits have similar structures. Both have a hard outer shell that reveals the fruit flesh when cut open, as well as the cocoa beans or seeds and melon pulp inside."
Conventional chocolate uses only the beans, but the researchers were able to use the flesh and parts of the fruit's outer shell—or the endocarp, to use the exact term—for their cacao fruit chocolate recipe.
They process it into powder and mix it with some of the pulp to form cocoa gel . This gel is extremely sweet and can replace the powdered sugar usually added to chocolate.
However, it wasn't easy for scientists to find the perfect recipe for cocoa fruit chocolate . They systematically tested the texture of different compositions in the laboratory. Too much fruit juice extracted from cocoa pulp results in lumpy chocolate, but too little results in an insufficiently sweet product.
The research team therefore set out to find the perfect balance between sweetness and texture. The problem of lump formation does not arise when using powdered sugar. Experiments have shown that chocolate can contain up to 20% gel, which is equivalent to the sweetness of chocolate containing 5 to 10% powdered sugar. In comparison, conventional dark chocolate can easily contain between 30 and 40% powdered sugar.
To test the sensory experience of the new recipes, trained panelists from Bangkok's University of Applied Sciences tasted 5-gram pieces of chocolate , some containing varying amounts of powdered sugar and others containing the new cocoa gel- sweetened variety. "This allowed us to empirically determine the sweetness of our recipe, expressed as an equivalent amount of powdered sugar," explains Oth Sombath .
A new sugar that is healthy, sustainable and good for farmers
Thanks to the use of cocoa gel as a sweetener, cocoa fruit chocolate contains more fiber than the average European dark chocolate (15 grams versus 12 grams per 100 grams). It also contains only 23 grams of saturated fat, compared to the usual 33 grams.
This means the researchers were able to increase the fiber content by about 20% while reducing the percentage of saturated fat by about 30%. "Fiber is valuable from a physiological point of view because it naturally regulates intestinal activity and prevents blood sugar from rising too quickly when chocolate is consumed.
Saturated fats can also pose a health risk when consumed in excess. There is a link between increased consumption of saturated fats and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease,” explains Professor Sombath.
Thai smallholder farmers can diversify their product offerings and increase their incomes if other components of the cocoa fruit can be commercialized for chocolate production instead of just cocoa beans .
And while most of the fruit can be used to produce cocoa fruit chocolate, only the cocoa shell remains, which is traditionally used as fuel or as composting material.
"This means that farmers can not only sell the beans, but also dry the juice from the cocoa pulp and endocarp, grind it into powder, and sell it as well," Oth Sombath said. "This would allow them to generate income from three value creation streams. And greater value creation for the cocoa fruit makes it more sustainable."
This doesn't mean that cocoa fruit chocolate will soon be found on grocery shelves. "Although we have demonstrated that our chocolate is appealing and offers a sensory experience comparable to that of regular chocolate, the entire value chain will need to be adapted, starting with cocoa farmers , who will need drying facilities," explains Professor Sombath.
Cocoa Fruit Chocolate
"Cocoa fruit chocolate can only be produced and sold on a large scale by chocolatiers when a sufficient quantity of powder has been produced by food processing companies." The first step has been taken: Oth Sombath has filed a patent for his cocoa fruit chocolate recipe .
The development of cocoa fruit chocolate is a promising example of how technology, nutrition, eco-compatibility and smallholder income diversification can work in tandem to improve the entire cocoa plant value chain.
Discover Thai chocolates by clicking on the image below:
