Chocolates that melt into a gooey mess at the bottom of a bag on a sweltering day are one inconvenience that people living in the warmer parts of the world know all too well.
But this may soon be a thing of the past, thanks to a firm in chocolate-loving Switzerland, where chocolate is also serious business.
With many outlets in Asia, the Barry Callebaut firm, a key player in the chocolate business, is developing a variety that withstands temperatures up to 55ºC before melting.
Even better, it is low in calories.
“In India, consumers don’t eat a lot of chocolate today, and there are logistics issues in the distribution of chocolates,” said Hans Vriens, the firm’s chief innovation officer.
“As the chocolate melts, the package doesn’t look very good anymore,” he said.
Switzerland exported some 111,494 tonnes of chocolate worth 924 million Swiss francs (NT$28.8 billion) in 2008 and another 73,475 tonnes worth SF894 million (NT$27.7 billion) was sold at home, according to Chocosuisse, the Association of Swiss Chocolate Manufacturers.
The biggest export destinations are Britain, Canada, France and Germany.
Though already the world’s biggest cocoa supplier and chocolate maker, counting giants Nestle and Hershey among it clients, Barry Callebaut, like other chocolatiers, is constantly working on innovations to entice new clients.
The heat-resistant chocolate, which the firm has dubbed “Volcano”, is aimed at “markets that don’t have good cooling chains or warmer temperature markets like China, India, southern Europe, southern United States and Latin America,” said Vriens.
Heat-resistant chocolate in itself is not new. It has been a standard issue of both the Swiss and US armies, but it has never been produced on a commercial scale.
Vriens said that “Volcano,” which would melt on contact with saliva and has a “crunchy” texture, differed from the army version as it’s made with the usual cocoa butter, unlike the military issue which substitutes vegetable fats for this key ingredient.(AFP)
大家都知道在悶熱的天氣下，袋子底部的巧克力常會融化成黏糊糊的一團，對居住在較炎熱地區的民眾尤其不便。
但這種情況也許很快就會是過去式了，這都要歸功於瑞士一間公司；在熱愛巧克力的瑞士，巧克力也是重要的產業。
「百樂嘉樂寶」公司是全球最大的巧克力製造商之一，在亞洲有許多據點，該公司正在研發一種要到攝氏五十五度才會融化的巧克力。
更棒的是，這種巧克力的熱量不高！
該公司創新總監漢斯．維瑞斯表示：「現今印度消費者巧克力吃得不多，配送巧克力的物流工作也是問題。」
他說：「巧克力一旦融化，包裝看起來就大為失色。」
據瑞士巧克力製造商協會「Chocosuisse」統計，瑞士二ＯＯ八年共出口了十一萬一千四百九十四公噸的巧克力，價值九億兩千四百萬瑞士法郎（新台幣兩百八十八億元）；在國內也銷出了七萬三千四百七十五公噸的巧克力，價值八億九千四百萬瑞士法郎（新台幣兩百七十七億元）。
其中最主要是輸往英國、加拿大、法國和德國。
儘管百樂嘉樂寶早就是全世界最大的可可粉供應商暨巧克力製造商，連雀巢和賀喜等大公司也都是他們的客戶，但他們和其他巧克力製造商一樣，仍持續創新開發吸引新的顧客。
該公司為這種能耐熱的巧克力取名為「火山巧克力」，維瑞斯說，火山巧克力主打「沒有完備低溫運送系統或是氣候較炎熱的市場，例如中國、印度、南歐、美國南部和拉丁美洲等。」
耐高溫巧克力其實早已問世。這種巧克力一直是瑞士和美國軍隊的標準配給，只是從未大規模量產。
維瑞斯說，放入口中接觸唾液後會融化的「火山巧克力」，口感酥脆，它不同於使用一般可可油製作的軍方版本，而是改採植物油脂作為關鍵原料。（法新社╱翻譯：袁星塵）
Photographer Franziska Stuenkel likes to take spontaneous urban shots, so she needs a nimble camera that is ready to go when inspiration strikes: her German-made Leica M11. “I have to be very quick and discreet,” said the Berlin-based artist who captures reflections of people walking past windows, their contours merging with the shapes behind the glass. Stuenkel’s compact Leica is the perfect camera for the job, the 51-year-old told AFP. Famous for its pocket-sized and retro-style devices, the Leica brand is celebrating a milestone as it marks 100 years since its first commercial camera was presented to the public. The
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