Peanut extracts can make milk chocolates healthier

Scientists have found a way to use peanut skin extracts to make milk chocolate that has even more nutritional benefits than that of dark chocolate - without affecting the taste.Dark chocolate can be a source of antioxidants in the diet, but many consumers dislike the bitter flavour.

The taste of milk chocolate is more appealing to a greater number of consumers, but it does not have the same antioxidants properties as dark chocolate.

Researchers from the North Carolina State University extracted phenolic compounds from peanut skins, a waste product of peanut production, and encapsulated them into maltodextrin powder which is an edible carbohydrate with a slightly sweet flavour that comes from starchy foods such as potatoes, rice or wheat.The maltodextrin powder was incorporated into the milk chocolate.

Consumer testing of 80 subjects who



compared samples of both milk chocolates with peanut extracts and without showed that the fortified chocolates were liked as well as the untreated milk chocolate.These tests also showed that the threshold for detecting the presence of the peanut skin extract was higher than that needed to fortify the milk chocolate to antioxidant levels comparable to dark chocolate.

However, peanut skins are a waste product of the blanching process of the peanut industry, the authors say that including these extracts would allow for a value-added use of the discarded skins.

"If applied to commercial products, peanut skin extracts would allow consumers to enjoy mild tasting products and have exposure to compounds that have proven health benefits," said lead author Lisa L Dean.

The research was published in the Journal of Food Science.