The effect of hard lauric fats on the crystallization behavior of cocoa butter substitute

Abstract

This work investigated the crystallization and melting behavior of cocoa butter substitute (CBS) blended with two hard lauric fats: fully hydrogenated palm kernel oil (FHPKO) and krabok seed fat (KSF). The aim was to find a way to increase the heat resistance of CBS for the production of heat-resistant compound chocolate (HRCC). Adding FHPKO to CBS increased the crystallization rate with a decrease in crystallization induction time but did not increase the heat resistance. In contrast, all KSF-CBS blends exhibited higher heat resistance than CBS and crystallized into β′ form, a preferred polymorph for fats used in compound chocolate. Only the blends with 10-60% KSF melted completely at the body temperature, indicating that they would leave no waxy mouthfeel, but the blends with 30 and 40% KSF exhibited a significant decrease in the crystallization rate compared to the original CBS. Therefore, the KSF-CBS blends with 10, 20 and 60% KSF are recommended for future use as fats for HRCC production.