Lifestyle

Scientists Just Found A Bizarre Way To Make Chocolate Much Less Fatty

by Emily Arata
Warner Bros.

There are two types of chocolate-lovers in this world: The dark chocolate purists who scoff at anything that falls below 80 percent cocoa, and the milk chocolate fiends who hoard discount bags of Milky Ways the day after Halloween.

If the two kinds of chocolate were students in school, dark would sit in the front row and take notes while milk got high in the bathroom.

But the days of dark chocolate being teacher's pet may finally be coming to a close. Although it's heart healthy and generally considered nutritionists' preferred dessert choice, there's a newly healthy foe in town.

A team of researchers from Temple University just discovered a way to take some of the fat out of milk chocolate. Are those crowds of sugar-happy fiends I hear, cheering in the distance?

The entire process comes down to the way chocolate's made, according to NPR's The Salt. Dense cocoa mixtures tend to clog up pipes, which means manufacturers add fats like cocoa butter to keep it flowing along smoothly. Willy Wonka's chocolate river, in other words, must have just been hugely fatty.

Historically, manufacturers had swapped high-fat additives for low-calorie alternatives. They lowered the calorie count, but the swaps didn't do much for taste and texture.

In contrast, this particular team works to understand fluids that have a tendency to form solids. Cocoa particles (which are round) float when suspended in fats. Instead of adding more fat, however, the team discovered that passing an electric current through the molten chocolate will flatten the particles, which then link up and wedge together tightly. The result is a formula that moves without that extra, fatty aid.

In short, an electric current means manufacturers will need less fat in their chocolate mixtures — upward of 10 percent, according to the team. This means that you, the customer, also buy chocolate goodies that add a little less to your thighs.

That is, unless you're actively melting it and rubbing it on your thighs. Who am I to judge?

This science-y wonder chocolate doesn't yet have a release date, but the team promises it's partnering with a “major” chocolate brand to try it out on the public. My mouth is already watering.

Citations: With A Zap, Scientists Create Low-Fat Chocolate (NPR)