As the saying goes, forget love—we’d rather fall into chocolate. It has been accepted that the sweet confectionary is universally loved, but now we have insight as to why.
Researchers from the School of Food Science and Nutrition at Leeds University partnered up with their colleagues from the School of Mechanical Engineering to determine why chocolate is so adored.
The answer, they found, has to do with fat.
“If a chocolate has 5% fat or 50% fat, it will still form droplets in the mouth, and that gives you the chocolate sensation,” said Anwesha Sarkar who is a professor at the School of Food Science and Nutrition. “However, it is the location of the fat in the make-up of the chocolate which matters in each stage of lubrication, and that has been rarely researched.”
As for where that fat must be placed? According to the study, the fatty layer needs to be on the outside to create a pleasant sensation in the mouth. This was discovered by printing a 3D tongue which showed exactly how a real tongue reacts when chocolate and saliva combine.
But, just to confirm that the science is, in fact, accurate, feel free to open a slab and test for yourself!
