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Get ready for SUPER-CHOCOLATE: Researchers find same brewing process used in beer production can boost flavours

Belgium team used the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, in chocolate
This is the same yeast that is commonly used to make beer and bread
Yeast releases the best aroma compounds more quickly, scientists say
Changing amount of yeast can help tailor the flavour of the chocolate

By Ellie Zolfagharifard For Dailymail.com

Published: 13:07 EST, 15 July 2015 | Updated: 15:37 EST, 15 July 2015

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Belgium boasts some of the best beer and chocolate in the world.

Now scientists from the region have combined the two to create a 'super-chocolate' that they say is better than any sweet treat you've ever tasted.

The team claim that the same species of yeast found in beer can be used to improve the flavour of chocolate - and they say the flavour can even be tailored it to different preferences.

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Researchers at the University of Leuven in Belgium claim the same species of yeast in beer, known as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, can be used to improve the flavour of chocolate

Leading chocolate producer Barry Callebaut found that chocolate's flavour forms when the sticky white pulp covering cocoa beans ferments during the drying process.

After the harvest, cacao beans are collected and placed in large wooden boxes, or even piled on the soil at the farms where they are grown.

At this point, the beans are surrounded by an unappetising white, gooey, pulp made up of sugars, proteins, water, pectin, and small amounts of lignin and hemicellulose.

Microbes that are found in the farm environment then go to work consuming the pulp through fermentation.

Belgian scientists use beer yeast to boost chocolate flavor

Differences among the microbes at different farms created differences in flavour and quality of the resulting chocolate.

'Some microbes produce bad aromas that enter into the beans, giving rise to chocolate with a foul taste,' said Dr Verstrepen from the University of Leuven.

'Others do not fully consume the pulp, making the resulting beans difficult to process.'

The chocolate connoisseurs turned to scientists from Leuven to help them find the yeast that results in the tastiest cocoa bean.

To find microbes that could produce better chocolate, the scientists looked at more than 1,000 strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Verstrepen's team eventually developed a cross between a beer yeast and one that occurs in the cocoa beans' natural environment.

Leading chocolate producer Barry Callebaut found that chocolate's flavour forms when the sticky white pulp covering cocoa beans ferments during the drying process (right). To find microbes that could produce better chocolate, the scientists looked at more than 1,000 strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (left)

The result is a hybrid yeast that releases the best aroma compounds more quickly - and prevents the growth of unwanted fungi.

This allows the producer to replicate the purest cocoa flavour with every bean.

And the Belgian team says using yeasts to engineer the taste of the chocolate means no added chemicals or artificial flavours.

'You will soon be able to go to the supermarket and pick your really favourite chocolate that is a bit more fruity, whereas maybe your significant other will go and he wants some more robust, you know, smokey chocolate, or a caramel-one, or a sweet or less sweet,' said Verstrepen.

Barry-Callebaut now plans commercial production of a range of tailor-made chocolates, using some of the novel yeasts.

The research was published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

THE NEW TYPE OF CHOCOLATE THAT CLAIMS TO MAKE YOU LOOK YOUNGER

Esthechoc contains 70 per cent cocoa and combines two antioxidants that it claims can make you look younger

We've all heard that eating antioxidant-rich foods like kale and blueberries can help beat wrinkles - but imagine if you could eat your way to younger skin by devouring chocolate.

Now, Cambridge Chocolate Technology believes you can do just that - and they've unveiled the world's first beauty chocolate.

A daily portion of Esthechoc, which has 38 calories. promises to increases the level of antioxidants in the skin, improving its microcirculation, raising its oxygen level and preventing ageing.

Esthechoc contains 70 per cent cocoa and combines two antioxidants that contain strong anti-ageing properties: cocoa flavanols and astaxanthin carotenoid.

A bar of Esthechoc contains the same amount of Astaxanthin as 2Kg of raw seaweed. A pack of the chocolate, which contains 21 portions, costs £35 ($55).

Dr Ivan Petyaev, who helped develop the chocolate, tested it out on 3,000 women aged between 50 and 60, who added the chocolate to their daily diet for three weeks.

After this period, tests showed that biomarkers and metabolic parameters of their skin were brought back to a level typical of people aged between 20 and 30.