Willy Wonka gum is fast becoming a reality with the development of a technology that uses microscopic capsules to release multiple flavors at different times.
Scientists at the Institute of Food Research in Norwich, England, are adapting the technology, originally designed to deliver drugs to certain areas in the digestive system, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Food scientist Professor Dave Hart has already created a layered, boiled sweet that changes flavors, but is hopeful the Wonka gum will be a bigger breakthrough.
“Wonka’s fantasy concoction has been nothing but a dream for millions of kids across the world,” said Professor Dave Hart, according to the Telegraph.
“But science and technology is changing the future of food, and these nanoparticles may hold the answer to creating a three course gourmet gum.”
The microscopic nanostructures, less than a few millionths of a millimeter in size, create an oily shell around the different molecules, separating them from other flavors.
“These would be broken up and released upon contact with saliva or after a certain amount of chewing – providing a sequential taste explosion as you chew harder,” Professor Hart explained.
This timed release technology could even create a first course of tomato soup, followed by roast beef and then blueberry pie, like Violet Beauregarde enjoyed in Roald Dahl’s novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, before she blew up like a blueberry and was rolled away by the Oompa Loompas!
The idea was pioneered by Professor Tony Dinsmore at the University of Massachusetts’ Department of Physics. His original technique captures flavors, vitamins, and even living cells within the capsules before mixing them into food ingredients.
Scientists at the Institute of Food Research in Norwich, England, are adapting the technology, originally designed to deliver drugs to certain areas in the digestive system, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Food scientist Professor Dave Hart has already created a layered, boiled sweet that changes flavors, but is hopeful the Wonka gum will be a bigger breakthrough.
“Wonka’s fantasy concoction has been nothing but a dream for millions of kids across the world,” said Professor Dave Hart, according to the Telegraph.
“But science and technology is changing the future of food, and these nanoparticles may hold the answer to creating a three course gourmet gum.”
The microscopic nanostructures, less than a few millionths of a millimeter in size, create an oily shell around the different molecules, separating them from other flavors.
“These would be broken up and released upon contact with saliva or after a certain amount of chewing – providing a sequential taste explosion as you chew harder,” Professor Hart explained.
This timed release technology could even create a first course of tomato soup, followed by roast beef and then blueberry pie, like Violet Beauregarde enjoyed in Roald Dahl’s novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, before she blew up like a blueberry and was rolled away by the Oompa Loompas!
The idea was pioneered by Professor Tony Dinsmore at the University of Massachusetts’ Department of Physics. His original technique captures flavors, vitamins, and even living cells within the capsules before mixing them into food ingredients.
