Research states that using oat flour in chocolate can decrease added sugar by 25% without altering its taste or consistency, contributing to a healthier substitute that preserves consumer preference.
Penn State scientists have revealed that the key to creating delicious chocolate with reduced sugar content lies in utilizing oat flour, a recent study stated.
In a screen taste test, issued in the Journal of Food Science, 25% decreased-sugar chocolates created with oat flour were appraised similarly, and in certain instances preferred to regular chocolate. The results suggest a new selection for reducing chocolate’s sugar quantity while upholding its texture and flavor.
We were able to present that there is a variety in which you can manage a substantial reduction in added sugar and individuals won’t notice and don’t care, in relations of liking, said John Hayes, professor of food science at Penn State and conforming author on the study. We’re never going to make chocolate healthy, since it’s an indulgence, nevertheless, we can effectively take out some of the sugar for customers who are trying to decrease their consumption of added sugars.
Hayes clarified that chocolate is about half sugar by mass, and the rest is fat and cocoa solids, so dropping the quantity of sugar by any amount can severely alter the texture and flavor profile of the chocolate.
The purpose of sugar in chocolate is equally sweetness and bulking, so if we eliminate the sugar, we have to replace it with something else that will do the job just as well, or customers will notice, said Gregory Ziegler, distinguished professor of food science at Penn State and co-author on the paper.
Ziegler had the idea of trying two different grains, rice, and oats, which comprise fine granular starches as substitutes for sugar in chocolate. The outcome would still comprise carbs, which ultimately break down into sugar, but the speed of absorption may be slower.
Starch is motionless a carbohydrate, so it’s not lower calories, but there is a general decrease in the added sugar content, which has possible health benefits, Ziegler said.
The team presented two different blind taste tests utilizing dark chocolate made with variable levels of sugars and grain flour. The primary test, conducted with 66 applicants, was intended to evaluate whether customers would notice a change between six varieties of chocolates: a control with a usual 54% level of sugar, four sugar-reduced versions with reductions of 25% or 50% sugar, and additions of oat or rice flour, and one 54% sugar chocolate with reduced refining time to examine if the grinding time would change the texture.
Customers appraised the 25% sugar-reduced chocolates and the reduced refining time chocolate as comparable to the blind control, but the 50% sugar decrease was appraised as significantly different in both texture and flavor. The team determined this was largely due to texture, as applicants stated the rice flour chocolate contained “a chalkier texture,” whereas oat-flour-containing chocolates were labeled as “smoother, softer and creamier.”
The subsequent blind taste test involved 90 members and evaluated consumer suitability for 25% reduced sugar chocolates made with oat and rice flour compared to regular chocolate, the control, made with 54% sugar. Each member was given one square of the respective chocolate for a total of three trials and was invited to rate overall preference, flavor preference, texture preference, and sweetness preference. The rice flour chocolates were preferred significantly less than the normal chocolate control, but the oat flour sample did not vary from the control — and in some instances rated slightly better.
Our findings indicate we can cut back 25% of added sugar to chocolate, successfully dropping the overall sugar by 13.5%, if we substitute oat flour, said Kai Kai Ma, a doctoral candidate in food science at Penn State and author of the paper. That inclusion of oat flour is doubtful to implicitly influence customer acceptability, which is good news.
Hayes, who also leads Penn State’s Sensory Evaluation Center, said he plans to contact some of his previous students who are now employed in the chocolate industry to inform the findings and hopefully spur new assortments of sugar-reduced chocolates by providing a proof-of-concept that oat flour can successfully do the job of added sugars.
I’m a big supporter in meeting consumers where they are, Hayes said. We’ve tried for 40 years to inform people to consume less sugar and it doesn’t work since people want to eat what they want to eat. So instead of making individuals feel guilt-ridden, we need to meet individuals where they are and figure out how to create food better while still conserving the pleasure from food.
