The rheology and foamability of crystal-melt suspensions composed of triacylglycerols

The rheology of triacylglycerol (TAG) crystal-melt suspensions (CMSs) consisting of anhydrous milk fat (AMF), cocoa butter (CB), and palm kernel oil (PKO) as function of crystallization shear rate γcryst and...

A Three-Stage Solidification Model for Food Particles

A three-stage solidification model for food droplets has been implemented in a computational fluid dynamics code. It comprises of an initial cooling stage that is based on the principles of convective heat transfer. This is followed by the solidification period that is initiated once the droplet cools to a phase change temperature. Finally, when the droplet is completely solidified, the tempering phase begins where the droplet cools to the temperature of the ambient air. The model has been validated with respect to the experimental data for cocoa butter. Additional simulations were made in which the crystallization behavior of the cocoa butter droplets in relation to the droplet size, ambient air temperature and the relative drop-gas velocity was investigated. It was found that the crystallization time is exponentially related to the droplet size. Further, it increased with the ambient temperature, but decreased with the relative drop-gas velocity. Overall, the results suggest operating at the extreme values of the process parameters, requiring high amount of energy, to minimize the crystallization time. It was concluded that there is a need for optimizing the operating conditions of the powder production process to minimize the energy requirement of the system while maintaining a reasonable crystallization time.

The Comparison of the Effectiveness of Cocoa Butter (CB) and Cocoa Butter Alternatives (CBA) in Chocolate Manufacture

This study aimed at (a) comparing the effectiveness of the use of Cocoa Butter (CB) and Cocoa Butter Alternatives (CBA) on food products and (b) measuring the effectiveness of the sub-groups of the Cocoa Butter Alternatives. In this study, the researchers used Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) with the Partial Least Square (PLS) approach. The analysis showed that (a) CB was more effective in the utilization than CBA and (b) after comparing sub-groups of the CBA examined in this study, Cocoa Butter Substitute (CBS) was more effective than Cocoa Butter Replacer (CBR) and Cocoa Butter Equivalent (CBE). This study is a practical recommendation for the use of CBA so that it can be widely applied in the chocolate industry.

RESEARCH OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE COMPONENTS OF CHOCOLATE GLAZES ON THEIR RHEOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Chocolate glaze is a large-tonnage component of various branches of food technology, which also performs important technological tasks, namely: helps to slow down oxidation processes; improving emulsifying and dispersing properties; prevents hardening of certain types of products; prevents the ingress of moisture, which increases the shelf life of the confectionery, etc. At the first stage, the main problems of production of the confectionery industry are determined - they require a scientific justification for the choice of competitive components of production technology, taking into account quality-cost indicators. Next, for the specified parameters of the production technology determine the components of the formulation of chocolate glazes. As an example, the results of studies of selected technological parameters of some compositions of chocolate glazes, a comparative analysis of their effectiveness on the rheological properties of compositions based on cocoa butter: alternative surfactants – standard lecithin – alternative surfactants - monoglycerides and a mixture of mono-, di- and triglycerides from palm oil by glycerolysis in the presence of an alkaline catalyst. Analysis of the system of results and calculation equations allowed to offer recommendations for the intensification of production processes: effectively reduces the viscosity of compositions based on cocoa butter, which, in turn, makes it possible to use them for partial replacement of lecithin in the manufacture of confectionery.

Evaluation of the Miscibility of Novel Cocoa Butter Equivalents by Raman Mapping and Multivariate Curve Resolution–Alternating Least Squares

Cocoa butter (CB) is an ingredient traditionally used in the manufacturing of chocolates, but its availability is decreasing due to its scarcity and high cost. For this reason, other vegetable oils, known as cocoa butter equivalents (CBE), are used to replace CB partially or wholly. In the present work, two Peruvian vegetable oils, coconut oil (CNO) and sacha inchi oil (SIO), are proposed as novel CBEs. Confocal Raman microscopy (CRM) was used for the chemical differentiation and polymorphism of these oils with CB based on their Raman spectra. To analyze their miscibility, two types of blends were prepared: CB with CNO, and CB with SIO. Both were prepared at 5 different concentrations (5%, 15%, 25%, 35%, and 45%). Raman mapping was used to obtain the chemical maps of the blends and analyze their miscibility through distribution maps, histograms and relative standard deviation (RSD). These values were obtained with multivariate curve resolution–alternating least squares. The results show that both vegetable oils are miscible with CB at high concentrations: 45% for CNO and 35% for SIO. At low concentrations, their miscibility decreases. This shows that it is possible to consider these vegetable oils as novel CBEs in the manufacturing of chocolates.

Kokum Butter: Potential Source of in Confectionary Industry

Cocoa butter is an important ingredient in the confectionery industry because of its unique physicochemical properties which are given by its peculiar fatty acid composition. Increasing demand and shortage of supply for cocoa butter, poor quality of individual harvests, economic advantages, and some technological benefits have induced for the development of its alternative or replacer. Kokum kernel is a byproduct of the agro-processing industry in India containing about 40–50 % fat which has the potential as a worthy cocoa butter alternative (CBA). However, inefficient extraction techniques that are practiced at the cottage level restrict its industrial applications.