Imagine picking up an apple, but instead of eating the flesh, you keep the seeds and discard the rest. That's similar to how chocolate producers have traditionally approached the cocoa fruit - using only the beans and discarding the rest.
However, food scientists in Switzerland have now developed a novel approach to chocolate production. Researchers at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, led by scientist Kim Mishra, have created a new type of chocolate that utilizes the entire cocoa fruit, not just the beans.
This chocolate incorporates the fruit pulp, juice, and even the husk or endocarp - components that are typically discarded in traditional chocolate manufacturing. The key lies in the naturally sweet juice, which is about 14% sugar and has a delightfully fruity, pineapple-like flavor.
The researchers distill this juice down into a concentrated syrup, then combine it with the pulp and the dried husk to form a sweet cocoa gel. This gel is then added to the cocoa beans, eliminating the need for additional sugar in the chocolate.
The scientists see this innovation as the latest in a long lineage of breakthroughs by Swiss chocolate producers. For instance, in the 19th century, Rudolf Lindt, from the famous Lindt chocolate family, accidentally invented the crucial "conching" process of rolling the warm cocoa mass to make it smooth and reduce acidity.
This new chocolate production method developed by Mishra and his team at the Federal Institute of Technology represents a significant advancement towards more sustainable and innovative chocolate manufacturing.
"In order to maintain your product category, you have to be innovative," says Kim Mishra. "Otherwise, you'll just end up producing average chocolate."
Mishra's project was a collaborative effort with KOA, a Swiss start-up specializing in sustainable cocoa cultivation. Anian Schreiber, KOA's co-founder, believes that utilizing the entire cocoa fruit could help address many of the critical issues facing the cocoa industry - from the soaring prices of cocoa beans to the endemic poverty experienced by cocoa farmers.
"Instead of fighting over how to divide up the existing pie, we should focus on making the pie bigger so that everyone can benefit," Schreiber explains.
By harnessing the full potential of the cocoa fruit, farmers can generate significantly higher incomes. Importantly, this value-adding processing can also happen within the countries of origin, creating local jobs and economic opportunities.
Schreiber describes the traditional chocolate production model, where farmers in Africa or South America sell their beans to large chocolate companies based in wealthy nations, as an "unsustainable" system.
The new approach championed by Mishra and KOA represents a shift towards a more equitable and sustainable cocoa industry, where local communities can capture more of the value generated by this versatile crop.
The model proposed by Mishra and KOA is also being questioned by a new exhibition in Geneva that explores Switzerland's colonial past. Chocolate historian Letizia Pinoja counters the notion that Switzerland never had colonies of its own, explaining that Swiss mercenary soldiers policed other countries' colonies, and Swiss ship owners were involved in the slave trade.
Pinoja argues that Geneva, in particular, has a strong historical link to some of the most exploitative phases of the chocolate industry. "Geneva has long been a hub for the commodity trade, and since the 18th century, cocoa has been reaching Geneva and then the rest of Switzerland to produce chocolate. Without this colonial trade in commodities, Switzerland could never have become the land of chocolate. Cocoa is no different from any other colonial good - they all came from slavery."
While the chocolate industry is now more regulated, with producers required to monitor their supply chains to ensure no child labor is involved, and upcoming EU regulations mandating that imported chocolate must be deforestation-free, challenges remain. Roger Wehrli, the director of the Swiss chocolate manufacturers' association Chocosuisse, acknowledges that cases of child labor and deforestation, particularly in Africa, are still prevalent. He fears that some producers are simply shifting their production to South America to avoid these issues, rather than addressing them at the source.
Wehrli sees the new chocolate innovation developed in Zurich as "very promising," as the use of the entire cocoa fruit can result in better prices for farmers, making it economically interesting for them. He also believes it is ecologically beneficial, as it represents a more sustainable approach to chocolate production.
Anian Schreiber also emphasizes the link between chocolate production and the environment. He points out that a third of all farm produce "never ends up in our mouths." This statistic is even more severe for cocoa, as the current practice is to use only the beans, while discarding the rest of the fruit. Schreiber compares this to "throwing away the apple and just using its seeds" - a waste that the new approach aims to address.
Food production is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, so reducing food waste could be an important step in tackling climate change. While chocolate may not be a huge factor on its own as a niche luxury item, both Schreiber and Roger Wehrli believe that innovations in this sector could set a positive example.
However, key questions remain in the laboratory. How much will this new chocolate cost? And, most importantly, without the use of sugar, what will it actually taste like?
In the view of the correspondent, who is a chocolate enthusiast, the answer to the last question is "surprisingly good." The new chocolate has a rich, dark, yet sweet flavor, with a hint of cocoa bitterness that would pair well with an after-dinner coffee.
The cost may prove to be a challenge, as the global sugar industry wields significant power and receives generous subsidies. As Kim Mishra explains, "The cheapest ingredient in food will always be sugar as long as we subsidise it." Cocoa pulp and juice are more expensive, so the new chocolate would, for now, be more costly to produce.
Despite these challenges, chocolate producers in regions where cocoa is grown, from Hawaii to Guatemala to Ghana, have reached out to Mishra for information about the new production method.
Some of the larger chocolate producers in Switzerland, including Lindt, have started using the entire cocoa fruit rather than just the beans. However, none of them have yet taken the step of eliminating sugar entirely from their chocolate.
Kim Mishra believes that finding "daring chocolate producers who want to test the market and are willing to contribute to a more sustainable chocolate" will be the key to disrupting the current system. Perhaps these innovative producers will emerge from Switzerland, where the chocolate industry produces 200,000 tonnes of chocolate per year, worth an estimated $2 billion.
At Chocosuisse, the Swiss chocolate manufacturers' association, Roger Wehrli sees a more sustainable but still promising future for the industry. "I think chocolate will still taste fantastic in the future," he insists, "and I think the demand will increase in the future due to the growing world population."
And will that future demand be for Swiss chocolate? "Obviously," Wehrli responds confidently. The Swiss chocolate industry, known for its high quality and innovation, is well-positioned to continue playing a leading role in the global chocolate market, even as it embraces more sustainable practices.
Reference: Imogen F. (27 Aug, 2024) Swiss Researchers Unveil Innovative Advancements in Chocolate Production
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