CLA‐Rich Chocolate Bar and Chocolate Paste Production and Characterization

Abstract

AbstractConjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is an 18‐carbon fatty acid with multiple health benefits, including anti‐obesity and anti‐carcinogenic properties. CLA‐rich soy oil (CLARSO) can be produced through a heterogeneous catalysis process, and this oil was previously used to produce CLA‐rich margarines and shortenings. The objectives of this study were to produce CLA‐rich chocolate bars and pastes by replacing a portion of the fat with CLARSO and compare the rheological, textural, and thermal properties of these pastes/bars to controls made with either soy oil or traditional fats. CLARSO was used to prepare bars/pastes. Rheology, firmness, and thermal behavior of the pastes and fracturability, hardness, and thermal behavior of the bars were determined. The CLARSO chocolate pastes/bars contained no additional saturated fat relative to soy oil controls but the pastes had more solid‐like rheology and were firmer and the bars had a higher fracture force relative to soy oil controls. Relative to non‐soy controls, CLARSO pastes had similar rheology and CLARSO bars had similar fracturability, despite containing less saturated fat. The fat crystals of all samples were in the same polymorphic form. Therefore, it was successfully demonstrated that CLARSO has the ability to produce chocolate pastes/bars with similar physical properties as traditional products containing more saturated fat.