Improvement of chocolate heat resistance with illipé butter stearin addition

Abstract

SummaryThe potential for using illipé butter stearin (IBS) as cocoa butter improver (CBI) in chocolate was investigated in this work. IBS was blended with cocoa butter (CB) in different weight ratios and solid fat content (SFC), crystallisation/melting thermograms, morphology and polymorphism of the blends as well as compatibility between IBS and CB were studied. IBS and CB exhibited a monotectic mixing behaviour, indicating that the two fats were compatible. Addition of 10%–25% IBS to CB increased SFC at all temperatures and the blends melted completely at body temperature. When IBS was added to dark chocolate (5% w/w of the final product), SFC, hardness and shape retention of the chocolate increased from those of the conventional dark chocolate made without IBS addition. Furthermore, fat bloom formation developed more slowly in the chocolate containing IBS. The results indicated that IBS increased heat resistance and fat bloom stability in chocolate without leaving waxy mouthfeel. Therefore, IBS has a high potential to be used as CBI for the chocolate industry.