Analytical Characterisation of Mouthfeel in Chocolate

Chocolate is one of the world’s favourite snack foods: over $100 billion was spent on chocolate in 2015. The unique appeal of chocolate lies in its taste, aroma and mouthfeel, or texture. These three attributes combine into the complex flavour of chocolate. As the natural ingredients of chocolate vary according to growing conditions, chocolate manufacturers go to some lengths to ensure the flavour of their chocolate products is consistent with their signature flavour. As with many food products, consumers are intensely loyal to their favourite brands and resist any changes to the flavour they expect. Ensuring that the signature flavour is replicated across batches requires correlation of analytical techniques with expensive sensory testing, since it is not feasible to taste test every batch.