Cocoa-Free Chocolate

Many people don’t realize that making chocolate takes a huge toll on the environment. For example, over the last 50 years in Ivory Coast, where one-third of the world’s cocoa is grown, more than 80 percent of its rainforest has been cut down to increase cocoa production. Combine that with the fact that the industry has not fulfilled its promises to phase out child labor practices and that climate change is making it harder to grow cocoa in general, and it’s easy to see why alternative sources for chocolate are being sought out.

One team of scientists started working on the problem by analyzing the flavor fingerprint of cocoa beans at various stages of processing — from raw to fermented to roasted — in order to understand what gives them their unique flavor. They then did the same with other food manufacturing by-products (such as the residue from pressing sunflower oil) to come up with a combination that can be fermented, roasted and dried in a similar manner.

After multiple tests by a random group of samplers produced good results, the cocoa-less chocolate was evaluated at Fraunhofer, where sensory experts were unable to distinguish it from conventional chocolate. The researchers plan to begin replacing cocoa in mass-market candy while continuing to raise awareness of the need for more sustainable solutions as well as the issues of child slavery within the cocoa industry.