Records from sugarcane are good for the environment. Chocolate, meanwhile, is good for our mood – even if too much sugar is unhealthy. But who said sugar was necessary to make chocolate?
A Zurich-based research team dried the fibre-rich innermost layer of the cocoa hull – called the endocarp – and ground it to powder. Next the pulp from in between the cocoa beans, which is naturally sweet, was pressed to make juice.
The juice concentrate and powder were heated to form a gel, and added to the cocoa mass to make chocolate.
Increased use of typically discarded 90% of cocoa fruits could impact significantly on farmers’ yield and income.
Cocoa pods can be used elsewhere too. Other chocolate alternatives are also available.
