Artificial Tongue Licks Up The Fat In Chocolate So (Hopefully) You Won’t Have To

Chocolate, for some, is one of life’s greatest pleasures. The sweet sensation of having your favorite treat melt in your mouth is a simple joy that not much can compare. But have you ever wondered about the science behind what makes chocolate so delectably irresistible?
 
Coming in to answer this question is the University of Leeds. A team of scientists from the university has been on a quest to understand why people have such an attachment to the dessert and how it coats our mouths.

The researchers employed the services of an artificial tongue produced in 2020 to conduct the study, analyze the different indexes of the treat, and pinpoint precisely where its makeup affects humans.

Four dark chocolate samples from Lindt Excellence bars made up of 70% to 99% cocoa were used on the fake tongue. Then, the researchers imaged the results and utilized a type of engineering called tribology—a field of engineering that studies how surfaces and fluids interact with each other—to examine how the samples behaved as they melted and mixed with saliva.

The scientists found that the satisfying feeling of chocolate melting in your mouth is from the initial release of fat on the tongue. This fat coats the mouth in a film that contributes to the silky feeling.

As more of it dissolved, the additional fat had a limited impact on how it felt in the mouth.

With this, scientists believe that it might be possible to create bars of chocolate with lower fat content by focusing all the fat on the outside of the bar to give people that initial silky smooth sensation and have the rest of it be a healthier treat.

Study lead Siavash Soltanahmadi notes, “With the understanding of the physical mechanisms that happen as people eat chocolate, we believe that a next generation of chocolate can be developed that offers the feel and sensation of high-fat chocolate yet is a healthier choice.”

The scientists are looking at putting this study to test other foods which undergo a phase change, such as ice cream, margarine, and cheese.

 
 
 
[via New Atlas and University of Leeds/EurekAlert, cover image via Dr Siavash Soltanahmadi]