Improving the crystallization and melting characteristics of cocoa butter substitute by blending with krabok seed fat.

This work investigated the crystallization and melting behavior of a commercial cocoa butter substitute (CBS) blended with 10-80% (by weight) of a hard lauric fat called krabok seed fat (KSF). The aim was to find CBS-KSF blends with improved crystallization and melting characteristics from that of the CBS. It was found that the addition of 10-80% KSF to CBS improved the melting properties of the CBS. However, 10-20% KSF resulted in too high solid fat content (SFC) values at the body temperature (37 °C) which would lead to waxy mouth feel. Adding 30-40% KSF resulted in better melting profiles than 10-20% KSF with SFC values < 3% at 37 °C and SFC curves most similar to cocoa butter. However, 40% KSF led to a significant decrease in the crystallization rate from that of CBS and a significant increase in the average crystal size. With 60-80% KSF, although the blends melted completely at the body temperature, their crystallization rates were significantly reduced. All CBS-KSF blends crystallized into β' structure. Therefore, the addition of 30% KSF to the CBS is recommended for industrial use to obtain compound chocolate with improved quality. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-022-05513-1. © Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) 2022.