Researchers from ETH Zurich have collaborated with the start-up Koa and the manufacturer Fechlin to develop a more sustainable and nutritious variety of chocolate, which makes the most of the cocoa fruit and uses cocoa gelatin as a substitute for powdered sugar.

Kim Mishra, lead author of the study, states that the cocoa fruit is similar to honeydew melon: “Both have a hard outer shell that reveals the pulp of the fruit when opened, as well as the cocoa beans or seeds and pulp of the melon inside.”

Conventional chocolate only uses the beans. However, these researchers used the pulp and parts of the peel of the fruit – the endocarp. They systematically tested the texture of various compositions in the laboratory. Too much fruit juice extracted from the pulp resulted in lumpy chocolate, but too little was insufficiently sweet. The research team strove to find the perfect balance between sweetness and texture.

By using cocoa gelatin as a sweetener, the chocolate is healthier as it has a higher fiber content than the average European dark chocolate (15 grams vs. 12 grams per 100 grams). It also contains only 23 grams of saturated fat, compared to the usual 33 grams. This option is also more sustainable because it allows small farmers to diversify their product offering and increase their income.