Scientists develop ‘perfect chocolate’ – and the secret comes from physics

Everyone has a favorite chocolate textureThe perfect recipe, fragrance, color and flavour. There are those who prefer the more expensive ones, made with elaborate blends, and those who like the common ones – but are there really Perfect chocolate? What is the best possible chocolate given the objective aim of science? That was the delectable question a group of Dutch scientists had — and the answer came not simply from developing a better recipe, but from physics.

The process started with 72% cacao chocolate to achieve the perfect texture and feel

– Chocolate and sweets: food print close to reality

the Experiment – did experiments Conducted by researchers from the University of Amsterdam, Delft University and Unilever, it sought to improve the sensation and perception of food in the mouth during biting and chewing. For this, the perfect piece developed is, in fact, a metamaterial, a substance modified to acquire properties that do not occur naturally, made of chocolate. These modifications are made into microstructures by the waves generated by electromagnetic pulses, and the metamaterial was produced through careful annealing in 3D printing.

The illustration used in the research to show one of the designed layouts

– The first machine that prints chocolate in the shape you want

The shape of the chocolate, designed as a serpentine with different curves, also helps to achieve perfection: according to research, the more chocolate breaks into different pieces after biting, the more satisfying the person who eats it. The sound of food crashing also makes a growling sound Fun biteAnd so scientists started out with the ideal candy as a spiral with two ends: then mathematical models developed other shapes considered perfect.

Some idealized formats were later modeled from mathematical models

– Chocolate and coffee can become luxury products if we continue to destroy the planet

According to Bian, the connection between crunch and the pleasure of eating is probably related to the brain’s perception of food’s freshness. Considered the first to use edible superfoods, the work was based on a mixture of 72% cocoa chocolate, which was melted and reconstituted with 3D printingand may represent a new chapter for the industry, as well as a starting point for new studies related to the nutritional interaction of humans with materials and textures, and the pleasure these different types of food provide us with.

The experiment was the first to use metamaterials to develop food.