maintain the seductive and lustrous brown gloss of chocolate,
Researches tell how to maintain the seductive and lustrous brown gloss of chocolate.
Canadian and Swedish scientists have shown that understanding the sweet's microstructure is key to stopping those unappetising looking, and sounding, "fat blooms".
The study is published in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal, Soft Matter.
The researchers have found new clues to understanding the microstructure of chocolate and what happens when it turns grey with age.
The researchers used temperature-controlled environmental electron scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to look at the needle-like spikes of cocoa butter that scatter light and make chocolate turn grey either if it has been stored too long or has been exposed to even small fluctuations in temperature as small as 2 degrees Celsius.
Fat blooms occur because chocolate is extremely sensitive to temperature. Just a 2°C fluctuation will cause the cocoa butter to melt, then recrystallise, forming needle-like structures that scatter light, giving a dull appearance.
The team studied the surface of chocolate as it aged using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), which fires electrons at the surface and measures the electrons knocked back from it to build a picture of the surface with very high resolution.
They found that where the chocolate surface was rough, blooms were far more likely to form.
The research suggests that if manufacturers were to minimize the amount of surface imperfections, this would be a good way to reduce blooms.
Canadian and Swedish scientists have shown that understanding the sweet's microstructure is key to stopping those unappetising looking, and sounding, "fat blooms".
The study is published in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal, Soft Matter.
The researchers have found new clues to understanding the microstructure of chocolate and what happens when it turns grey with age.
The researchers used temperature-controlled environmental electron scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to look at the needle-like spikes of cocoa butter that scatter light and make chocolate turn grey either if it has been stored too long or has been exposed to even small fluctuations in temperature as small as 2 degrees Celsius.
Fat blooms occur because chocolate is extremely sensitive to temperature. Just a 2°C fluctuation will cause the cocoa butter to melt, then recrystallise, forming needle-like structures that scatter light, giving a dull appearance.
The team studied the surface of chocolate as it aged using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), which fires electrons at the surface and measures the electrons knocked back from it to build a picture of the surface with very high resolution.
They found that where the chocolate surface was rough, blooms were far more likely to form.
The research suggests that if manufacturers were to minimize the amount of surface imperfections, this would be a good way to reduce blooms.
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