Scientists have discovered a chocolate that contains 90 percent fewer calories than the average bar and heat-resistant to temperatures up to 55C (131F), reports The Glascow Herald.
Swiss chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut has named its newest product Vulcano because it can be eaten when it's very hot - and because it's light, airy and full of bubbles, like volcanic rock. It only melts in the mouth, but it's broken down by enzymes in saliva rather than the heat of the tongue. Creating a low-calorie chocolate has been tried before, but it's difficult to retain what experts call the "mouth feel" and lingering taste of conventional chocolate. Americans experimented with melt-free chocolate during World War II, but it was never produced commercially.
Created in a lab under top secret conditions by an international team of food engineers, Callebaut, which supplies Cadbury and Nestle with its cocoa products, did not say what the cocoa content is, but it is described as “nice and chocolaty, with "a strong aroma" and a "crispy rather than creamy" consistency.
Volcano won’t be available commercially for at least two years, but when it is Callebaut is set to target the calorie-conscious community of chocoholics in the U.S. and Europe, and create new markets in Asia and Africa, where chocolate consumption is low due to melting temperatures.
