食品伙伴网导读：德国Herza巧克力公司已启动了一个新的研究项目，是关于可加入到酸奶中的无菌巧克力片的新型生产方法。据悉德国的巧克力专家已被赞助了€1,100,000 的研究资金，此外还有来自石勒苏益格-荷尔斯泰因的€270,000的研究资金。此研究项目将历时2年，Herza公司希望能开发出一种易于在酸奶制品中添加的无菌巧克力的生产方法以及与之相配的生产设备。
在酸奶制品中添加巧克力片，是一个棘手的问题，因为除了有保质期的要求外，还有酸奶中存在了大量的水分。在大量水分存在的环境中，巧克力中的糖晶体会融化，使巧克力片丧失其稳定性和浓稠度。而巧克力中的细菌则将在酸奶中寻找到更适宜其大量滋生的环境，从而使产品迅速的变质。
研究者称，可可是一种敏感的成分，过高的温度及不当的灭菌、烘焙、研磨或搅拌，都会对最终的巧克力片的质量造成影响。所以，当你准备开发一种新的灭菌方法时，这些因素你都要考虑到。
解决方案之一就是解决巧克力中的糖含量，这样巧克力中的糖晶体就被厚厚的脂肪层所包裹而与外界的水分隔开，而防止了被溶解。另一种解决方案就是用乳化剂或其他阻隔层，可在保质期内将糖晶体与水隔离开来。
研究者相信这一研究项目的成功，将使具有巨大的市场潜力的巧克力酸奶制品受到普遍的欢迎，并且，由于无菌巧克力片无需额外的加工过程，所以乳品行业都可以轻易的将其添加到自己的产品中。 食品伙伴网翻译整理了这篇文章，希望对我国的乳品及其相关行业，以及对此感兴趣的研发人员有所帮助和启发。若想了解详情，请阅读原文。
原文报道：
Research takes aim at chocolate challenges in yoghurt
By Guy Montague-Jones, 23-Jul-2010Herza 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.
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