食品伙伴網(wǎng)導(dǎo)讀：德國Herza巧克力公司已啟動了一個新的研究項目，是關(guān)于可加入到酸奶中的無菌巧克力片的新型生產(chǎn)方法。據(jù)悉德國的巧克力專家已被贊助了€1,100,000 的研究資金，此外還有來自石勒蘇益格-荷爾斯泰因的€270,000的研究資金。此研究項目將歷時2年，Herza公司希望能開發(fā)出一種易于在酸奶制品中添加的無菌巧克力的生產(chǎn)方法以及與之相配的生產(chǎn)設(shè)備。

    在酸奶制品中添加巧克力片，是一個棘手的問題，因為除了有保質(zhì)期的要求外，還有酸奶中存在了大量的水分。在大量水分存在的環(huán)境中，巧克力中的糖晶體會融化，使巧克力片喪失其穩(wěn)定性和濃稠度。而巧克力中的細菌則將在酸奶中尋找到更適宜其大量滋生的環(huán)境，從而使產(chǎn)品迅速的變質(zhì)。

    研究者稱，可可是一種敏感的成分，過高的溫度及不當?shù)臏缇?、烘焙、研磨或攪拌，都會對最終的巧克力片的質(zhì)量造成影響。所以，當你準備開發(fā)一種新的滅菌方法時，這些因素你都要考慮到。

    解決方案之一就是解決巧克力中的糖含量，這樣巧克力中的糖晶體就被厚厚的脂肪層所包裹而與外界的水分隔開，而防止了被溶解。另一種解決方案就是用乳化劑或其他阻隔層，可在保質(zhì)期內(nèi)將糖晶體與水隔離開來。

    研究者相信這一研究項目的成功，將使具有巨大的市場潛力的巧克力酸奶制品受到普遍的歡迎，并且，由于無菌巧克力片無需額外的加工過程，所以乳品行業(yè)都可以輕易的將其添加到自己的產(chǎn)品中。 食品伙伴網(wǎng)翻譯整理了這篇文章，希望對我國的乳品及其相關(guān)行業(yè)，以及對此感興趣的研發(fā)人員有所幫助和啟發(fā)。若想了解詳情，請閱讀原文。




原文報道： By Guy Montague-Jones, 23-Jul-2010

Herza Schokolade has launched a research project to find new ways of producing sterile chocolate pieces for yoghurts.

The German chocolate specialist has committed €1.1m to the project, which is being supported with an additional €270,000 from the state of Schleswig-Holstein.

At the end of the two year research project, Herza hopes to have developed a technical process and suitable plant for producing sterile chocolate that can be easily added to yoghurt products.

Chocolate challenges

The task of adding chocolate pieces to yoghurt is a tricky one because of the high moisture content of yoghurts and their shelf life demands.

In the moist environment of the yoghurt, the sugar crystals in chocolate can dissolve so that the pieces lose their stability and consistency.

Even more problematic is the bacteria content of the chocolate that finds an ideal breeding ground in the yoghurt causing the finished product to deteriorate quickly.

Faced with these challenges, Torsten Wywiol, managing director of Herza, said: “Our aim is to develop a technical process and suitable plant for producing sterile chocolate in different shapes and sizes which will help to enhance the sensory quality of the end products.”

Possible approaches

On the shelf life front this means that the sterility of the chocolate has to be guaranteed. Wywiol said this can be harder to achieve than it sounds.

“The constituents of the cocoa are very sensitive. Excessively high temperatures and incorrect cleaning, roasting, grinding or conching impair the quality of the finished chocolate pieces. All that has to be taken into account when you are developing new sterilisation techniques.”

As for the shape and consistency of the chocolate pieces, Wywiol explained that there are two strategies available.

“One way is to cut down the sugar content of the chocolate so that the individual sugar crystals are covered with a thicker layer of fat as a protection against water. The other possibility is to coat the sugar crystals with emulsifiers or other barrier layers in order to prevent any interaction between sugar and water up to the end of the minimum shelf-life.”

Herza believes that success with the research project has significant market potential as yoghurt products with chocolate are gaining in popularity. Also, sterile chocolate pieces need no additional processing so dairies can easily add them to their products.