Cadbury and the chocolate that doesn’t melt
In true Willy Wonka style, confectioner Cadbury invents a new chocolate that melts at a higher temperature, designed for chocolate lovers in hot climates. But will it pass the taste test?
Scientists at Cadbury’s research and development plant in Bourneville have created a new chocolate bar that stays completely solid even when exposed to temperatures of 40 degree Celsius for more than three hours.
Cadbury engineers have set out the method for making breakthrough “temperature-tolerant chocolate” in an 8,000-word patent application.
While standard chocolate has a melting point of 34 degrees Celsius, the new bars are ideal for warmer weather. The new recipe will be available in hot countries, likely to include India and Brazil.
The secret to the new bars is a change in the so-called “conching step” – where a container filled with metal beads grinds the ingredients, which usually include cocoa butter, vegetable oils, milk and sugar.
Cadbury has developed a way of breaking down sugar particles into smaller pieces, reducing how much fat covers them and making the bar more resistant to heat. “We have found that it is possible to instill temperature-tolerant properties by refining the conched chocolate after the conching step,” Cadbury said in its patent application.
“Production of temperature-tolerant chocolate would allow production of chocolate-containing product more suitable for hot climates, particularly in less economically developed countries where the supply chain is ill-equipped to handle temperature fluctuations,” it said.
However, professional chocolatiers are unimpressed with Cadbury’s new invention, claiming it would not taste as good as the original “melt in the mouth” chocolate.
The company admitted that the new bars would not have the same quality as normal chocolates – but it still prove a welcome addition to the menu in some countries.