On February 23, 2023, according to Mohou.com, Huang Qinglong, a food researcher from Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences in the United States, conducted research on the safety of chocolate. It used 3D printing technology to produce a low. -fat chocolate. This study also involved researchers from the Department of Food Science and Technology at Jinan University in Guangzhou, China. The research results were published in a paper titled “Development of reduced-fat 3D printed chocolate by replacing cocoa butter with water-in-oil emulsions.” ” In the journal FoodHydrocolloids.Paper link:
Consuming large amounts of chocolate can lead to certain disease risks, such as high blood pressure, high blood lipid levels, diabetes and even cardiovascular disease. These factors strengthened Professor Huang’s determination to create a “functional food”. According to Professor Huang, functional foods refer to foods specifically designed to benefit health. In this case, protect your health from the effects of increased sugar and fat consumption by creating healthier varieties of chocolate. The team of scientists around Huang Qingrong successfully achieved this using 3D printing technology.
△Professor Huang and a piece of 3D printed chocolate (Photo source: Christa Principato/Rutgers University).
Using 3D printing technology to reduce fat content in chocolate
Traditional chocolate production usually consists of cocoa butter, cocoa powder, sugar and a few other ingredients. However, in order to produce low-fat chocolate with a 3D printer, the research team had to carry out tests on these ingredients, which had to be mixed in different proportions. The goal here is to create an optimal balance between liquid and solid so that it can be extruded by 3D printing. To do this, the team needed an emulsion, which is a mixture of two different usually immiscible liquids, like oil and vinegar. In this case, it is an emulsion of water in cocoa butter held together by gum arabic. Gum Arabic is an extract obtained from the acacia tree and is commonly used in the food industry. Before food researchers added the emulsion to other ingredients, they also used golden syrup to improve the taste.
After completing 3D printing of the low-fat chocolate using a 3D food printer, the researchers conducted further testing and investigation on the printed functional food. By studying the structure and physical properties of 3D printed chocolate, they sought optimal viscosity levels for subsequent printing. Even 3D printed chocolate should have an almost real texture and softness, which is why they repeatedly tried to change the proportions of the main ingredients in order to create the right mixture the first time.
3D printing is the process of creating a physical object from a digital model by depositing layers of materials in rapid succession. The 3D printer and the shapes it generates can be programmed using an app on your phone. Professor Huang said he plans to design more functional foods with added healthy ingredients – such as orange peels, tea, red peppers, onions, rosemary, turmeric, blueberries and ginger – that consumers could print and eat in the future.
Professor Huang added: “Everyone likes to eat chocolate, but we also pay attention to our health. To solve this problem, we created a chocolate that is not only low in fat, but can also be printed with a 3D printer. our first ‘functional’ chocolate.
The research team believes that their 3D printed chocolate has a clear advantage because it allows for edible products that can be easily produced for consumers and have excellent nutritional value based on taste, shape and even size. texture of each.
Source: Antarctic Bear
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