Could wild mangoes solve the world's chocolate crisis?
By Sayma Akhter, Morag McDonald and Ray Marriott, Bangor University
| Oct. 21, 2016 at 11:55 AM
Chocolate dates back to 1900 B.C. - but it’s now at risk of running out. Photo by Billion Photos/Shutterstock
Theobroma, the genus to which cacao, or "cocoa" a" we know it, belongs, translates from the Latin
as "food of the gods." Ask any serious chocoholic and they would agree
that this is an apt name to be used in relation to the sweet treat that
many worldwide enjoy.
Much to the dismay of said chocolate lovers, there has been a decline in the availability of cocoa recently, putting the global chocolate supply at risk. The trees on which cocoa pods grow have suffered due to a combination of factors,
including crop failure, disease and aging plantations, which has led to
price fluctuations and a shortfall in supply. Global demand for the
ingredient has been growing meanwhile, leading industry experts to warn
there could be a chocolate deficit of 1 million tons by 2020.
What to do? Use of a substitute ingredient would work, but they are very rarely accepted happily by consumers.
The industry is still seeking an alternative, however, as experts
confirm that chocolate as it is known and loved now could turn into a much sweeter confectionery.
But rather than bulking bars up with sweet nougat or raisins in place
of cocoa butter – the key component currently used – there is another
way.
Cocoa butter is the pure butter extracted from cocoa beans and is one
of the unique natural fats highly demanded by the food industry, as
well as for use in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. It is currently the
only commercially available natural fat which is rich in saturated and
mono-unsaturated fatty acids. There are some alternatives available
based on lauric and myristic acid – but these have both been shown to increase blood cholesterol.
The price of cocoa butter is one of the highest among all tropical
fats and oils and, according to International Cocoa Organization, its cost more than doubled
between 2005 and 2015. Finding an alternative that will satisfy the
world's sweet tooth is not an easy task, but we may just have found the
answer: wild mango. The unknown mango
Wild mango is something of a "Cinderella" species, the potential of
which is as yet unrealized. The fruit is a mainstay in the lives of
rural Bangladeshis in the hill forest areas of the country, where it is
extensively used in pickles and chutneys, for food and for medicines.
However, it is not farmed in any formal sense and remains a wild
species, sporadically collected throughout the year.
Our research has found that this fruit could provide an alternative to the much coveted cocoa butter,
plucking it from the branches of obscurity into mainstream production.
The analyses we conducted showed that wild mango butter, made from the
fruit's stone, has a very similar chemical, physical and thermal profile
to cocoa butter – as well as several superior properties. It has a
higher solid triglyceride content, for example, which means it can be
used to improve soft cocoa butters, and make a temperature-resistant
hard chocolate. It has the added advantage of being a fruit with a
large kernel – typically 40 to 50 percent of its body mass – meaning it
has a proportionately high fat content: 9 to 14 percent.
Additionally, the color of the mango butter is same as cocoa butter –
and the melting point is also very close, which is of great importance
for maintaining chocolate production processes and reducing some of the
cost.
Though, unfortunately, our funding did not allow us to make a bar of
scrumptious chocolate with the mango alternative, the science is all
there – and cultivating the wild mango may have extra benefits for
society and the environment too. Wild mango can be found growing in
Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Myanmar, China, Thailand and Cambodia.
However, the species is declining at an alarming rate due to logging,
shifting cultivation and very few conservation efforts. There is an
enormous potential for the development of a wild mango enterprise, which
the food and cosmetic industries could make use of together. Sayma Akhter is a PhD researcher; Morag McDonald is a professor of ecology & catchment management; and Ray Marriott is a research fellow at Bangor University. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
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