Chocolate

One of life’s less pleasant surprises is discovering the chocolate bar that you forgot you had in your pocket on a hot day. Two scientists working at Cadbury’s research and development plant in Bourneville, U.K., are fighting that gooey surprise with the invention of chocolate that remains solid even when exposed to temperatures of 40º C (104º F) for more than three hours.  Read More

Researchers at the University of Warwick have found a way to halve the fat content of chocolate without compromising any of the properties people prize in the cocoa-based confectionery. The discovery hinges on the substitution of fat with an unlikely alternative: fruit juice.  Read More

Chocolate lovers are unlikely ever to need encouragement to indulge, but just in case, here's some good news: researchers have found that higher levels of chocolate consumption have been associated with a 37% reduction in the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, 31% reduction in diabetes and a 29% reduction for stroke.  Read More

If you’re trying to woo that special someone, instead of just bringing them a box of ordinary chocolates, how about a box of chocolates that look like you? You’re right, that would just be creepy, but chocolates formed into user-defined shapes are nonetheless now a possibility, thanks to a 3D chocolate printer developed at the University of Exeter.  Read More

We’ve seen the world’s first Formula 3 car running on a fuel derived from waste chocolate, and now engineers at Ford have turned to the tasty treat for inspiration to produce lighter plastic parts for Ford’s vehicles. Plastic parts have traditionally been a difficult area to save weight without sacrificing strength and durability, but by looking to the Aero chocolate bar they have produced a lighter plastic by introducing gas bubbles into the plastic as it is molded. The result is a microscopic honeycomb structure that Ford says saves weight by reducing the amount of plastic used without compromising the integrity of the part.  Read More

If DNA sequencing never held much relevance for you, consider the benefits likely to flow from the recent sequencing and assembly of the chocolate tree genome. The Theobroma cacao plant is generally regarded as producing the world's finest chocolate, but is particularly vulnerable to disease and not particularly productive, and is hence shunned by risk averse growers. It is hoped the research will not only lead to hardier trees by altering the genes, but will also enable the percentages of cocoa butter, flavonoids, antioxidants, terpenoids and hormones to be regulated. The end result is likely to be smoother, more flavorsome, better smelling and even healthier chocolate. Now that's progress!  Read More

Environmentally friendly vehicles conjure up thoughts of a Toyota Prius hybrid or maybe a vehicle powered by hydrogen fuel cells, but a Formula 3 racing car generally wouldn’t be the first thing to come to mind. This "WorldFirst Formula 3 car" unveiled by researchers at the University of Warwick might just change that impression - and it's eco-friendliness goes way beyond the bio diesel engine that drives it. The racer is powered by chocolate, steered by carrots, has bodywork made from potatoes and can still do 125mph around corners.  Read More

Eating chocolate is one of those pleasure experiences many of us can’t live without, and for those serious choc addicts who think they've done it all, there could yet be a new frontier - chocolate that you inhale. Created by a professor at Harvard University with help from art and science college students, Le Whif began as a culinary art experiment which culminated into a marketed product that’s set for a world tour - it’s a chocolate inhaler shaped like a tube of lipstick that is breathed in for a mouth full of chocolate, with a tiny fraction of the calories. Scoffing is replaced by whiffing.  Read More

October 26, 2006 It’s one of those days for quirky news, and they don’t come much quirkier than the products of Swiss company DeLafee International which creates the most expensive chocolate in the world. DeLafee’s Swiss chocolate pralines are covered with 24 carat edible gold leaf hand-applied to each chocolate. Not surprisingly, there’s no economy pack, with the Intimacy Box costing US$36.90 and containing two pralines (pictured), while the celebration Box of eight is US$98.40. Why is the gold edible? All gold is apparently edible, being totally safe when ingested and famous for its non-allergenic properties (otherwise it wouldn’t be used in tooth fillings). Both the European Union and United States authorize the use of gold to decorate food products and in several cultures gold is regularly used in foods. India is the world's largest consumer of gold in food products, eating its way through 12 metric tons of gold per year. Gold leaf is used to decorate pastries, which the wealthy offer as gifts for special celebrations like weddings or holidays. In France and Italy, celebrity chefs use gold leaf to decorate their most refined dishes. In Japan, gold leaf is mixed with sake on New Year's Eve to bring good luck and prosperity for the coming year and in Europe the same tradition apparently exists with champagne, though we can’t vouch for either practice.  Read More