Modelling crystallization and melting kinetics of cocoa butter in chocolate and application to confectionery manufacturing

Abstract

Effort has been devoted towards modelling the crystallization and melting kinetics of fats in chocolate. By simplifying the possible crystal structures of cocoa butter, a set of differential equations has been developed to model the phases present in the system. The kinetic and thermodynamic parameters for the model were obtained from DSC experiments and coupled to the heat transfer equation to obtain temperature profiles. A new method that allows the use of XRD to quantify crystal structures in chocolate has been developed. Simulations using the model agree favorably with these XRD measurements.