NZ Scientists Make Beef-Based Chocolate
Mustafa Farouk, a senior scientist who works for the AgResearch institute, has partnered with Auckland-based Devonport Chocolates to create a confection made with 50 percent beef, as reported on Munchies – Vice’s food website.
The scientist created a “chocolate butter” out of the beef—rendering it largely flavourless and textureless using the institute’s own proprietary procedures. The mixture is finished at Devonport Chocolates.
In an interview with Munchies he explained why he created the beef-based chocolate.
“One of the things that I do is look at how I can add value to meat… We started thinking, how is meat going to be consumed in the future? How can we get meat proteins and other nutrients in meat and combine it with other popular, familiar products, so that we can get a product that would be acceptable to the consumer,” said Farouk.
“We know that chocolate is one of those things that everybody loves, and we thought, well, chocolate may be a good product to start with.”
Farouk explained that the initial consumer demographic they had in mind for the product was older people who live in retirement homes and have problems chewing.
“As we developed it, we realized that the chocolate is going to be very high in protein and it’s also going to contain high vitamin B-12 because of the meat, high iron content, zinc… So, we thought that product can also be good for toddlers and youngsters”. “People who are very active are also the kind of people that can enjoy this type of product,” according to Farouk.
Up to 50 percent of the chocolate is meat, explains the scientist. Like that people can get extra protein in their chocolates without even tasting the beef.
When asked if the scientists experimented with beef in other products, he said:
“We have already done a meat-lover’s ice cream. You try that ice cream, and you’d never know that there is meat in that product at all. There is no dairy in it, and therefore people who are lactose intolerant can eat that ice cream and enjoy it. We also produced mousse and have also produced spaghetti with meat.”
Article Source: Munchies (Vice), Gigen Mammoser, June 15, 2016
Image Source: Youtube
