Most of us can agree that chocolate tastes delicious, but have you ever wondered why eating it feels so good? A group of researchers from the University of Leeds in the U.K. has been looking into why having a mouthful of chocolate is so satisfying. And it turns out, it all comes down to the perfect amount of fat.
The team from the university’s School of Food Science and Nutrition and its School of Mechanical Engineering have determined that eating chocolate feels so good because of the way its fats interact with different parts of our mouths. The researchers explain that when the chocolate bites hit the tongue, it releases a “fatty film” into our mouths, creating that irresistibly smooth sensation while we chew.
Study author Anwesha Sarkar says it doesn’t matter whether the chocolate has 5% fat or 50% fat, it will still “form droplets in the mouth and that gives you the chocolate sensation.” But the location of the fat in the chocolate makes a difference and their research finds that regardless of the amount of fat, the “fat layer” needs to be on the outside layer of the candy to create that lovely mouthfeel.
Source: Food and Wine