A Preliminary study: The addition of konjac glucomannan-based hydrogel into chocolate increases the melting point of chocolate

Abstract

Chocolate easily melts at a temperature of 32-34°C. This is a challenge for tropical countries, such as Indonesia. To cope with this problem, an innovation is needed to produce a heat-resistant chocolate. One of methods that can be done is by adding hydrogel. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of hydrogel made from konjac glucomannan on the physical characteristics of chocolate. In this study, hydrogel with a proportion of 2% was added into chocolate at the end of conching process. The influence of three different hydrogels made with konjac glucomannan concentration of 3%, 5%, and 7% was investigated. The result showed that the addition of hydrogel had a significant effect on the characteristics of chocolate. The addition of hydrogel did not only increase the melting point of chocolate, but also increased the hardness and particle size of chocolate. The higher the hydrogel concentration, the higher the hardness values. In conclusion, the addition of konjac glucomannan-based hydrogel in chocolate has the potential to produce heat-resistant chocolate.