Swiss Researchers Invent Healthier, More Sustainable Chocolate

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Scientists at federal technology institute ETH Zurich have developed a new type of chocolate that is more sustainable and richer in nutrients than using conventional production methods, as presented in a study published on Tuesday.

Do you want to read our weekly top stories? Subscribe here .

ETH Zurich researchers replaced granulated sugar in their chocolate with parts of the cocoa fruit that are not used in conventional chocolate. They presented the new recipe in a study in the specialist journal Nature Food.

+ How much would you pay for chocolate?

In addition to the cocoa beans, the pulp and parts of the fruit peel are also found in the chocolate, as the university writes in a statement about the study.

The researchers processed the shell of the cocoa beans into a powder, which they mixed with the pulp to make a jelly. With this extremely sweet jelly, the researchers replaced the sugar that is normally added.

The laboratory chocolate contains more fiber and less saturated fatty acids than normal chocolate, making it healthier, the study shows. Small farmers could also benefit, according to the ETH. They could diversify their product range and increase their income by using more parts of the cocoa fruit.

This content was published on Jan 6, 2023 The chocolate supply chain has many intermediaries from bean to bar. Those at the bottom get the least but it doesn't have to be this way.

According to ETH, finding the perfect recipe for the cocoa fruit chocolate was not easy for the researchers. Because too much of the juice obtained from the pulp causes the chocolate to clump, too little of it makes it not sweet enough.

In the laboratory, the scientists therefore had to systematically test the consistency of the different compositions.

The experiments showed that you can add a maximum of 20% jelly to a chocolate, which corresponds to the sweetness of a chocolate with around 5 to 10% granulated sugar. For comparison: 30 to 40% granulated sugar is quickly added to conventional dark chocolate.

However, it will still be a while before the chocolate can be bought in stores. First, the entire value chain must be completed, explained ETH. But a first step has been taken: the recipe for the cocoa fruit chocolate has been registered as a patent by the ETH.

Translated from German by DeepL/mga

This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them
here .

If you want to know more about how we work, have a look
here ,
and if you have feedback on this news story please write to
... .

Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox.

Daily

The SBC Privacy Policy provides additional information on how your data is processed.

I consent to the use of my data for the SWI swissinfo newsletter.

• How the humble cocoa bean gets turned into chocolate and money

This content was published on May 21, 2024 The proportion of threatened bird species is higher in Switzerland than many other countries.

This content was published on May 21, 2024 The Federal Administrative Court rejected arguments that Bimbo stands for the word Toddler.

This content was published on May 21, 2024 Switzerland Tourism wants overcrowding measures, such as entrance fees, to be balanced.

This content was published on May 21, 2024 Swiss supermarket chain, Migros, is shedding jobs and subsidiaries.

This content was published on May 21, 2024 Swiss traffic jams woes pale into insignificance on a global scale.

This content was published on May 21, 2024 BSC Young Boys retain title to win 17th Swiss football league championship.

This content was published on May 21, 2024 Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis expresses condolences after death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

This content was published on May 20, 2024 Research has shown how the capacity of trees to carry out photosynthesis is reduced when temperatures climb above 30°C.

This content was published on May 20, 2024 Three of the fatalities over the long weekend were the result of avalanches, while one ski tourer fell to his death.

This content was published on May 20, 2024 The Swiss People's Party says it will launch two postulates calling for clarifications about the recent student protests and occupations.

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at ... .

MENAFN21052024000210011054ID1108240873