Cocoa butter
| Cocoa butter | |
 Raw cocoa butter |
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Fat composition
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|---|---|
| Saturated fats | 57-64%: stearic acid (24-37%), palmitic acid (24-30%), myristic acid, (0-4%), arachidic acid (1%), lauric acid (0-1%) |
| Unsaturated fats | 36-43% |
| Monounsaturated fats | 29-43%: oleic acid (29-38%), palmitoleic acid (0-2% %), |
| Polyunsaturated fats | 0-5%: linoleic acid (0–4%), α-Linolenic acid (0-1%) |
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Properties
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| Food energy per 100 g | 3770 kJ (900 kcal) |
| Melting point | 34.1 °C (93.4 °F), 35–36.5 °C (95–98 °F) |
| Solidity at 20 °C | solid |
| Refractive index | 1.44556-1.44573 |
| Iodine value | 32.11-35.12, 35.575 |
| Acid value | 1.68 |
| Saponification value | 191.214, 192.88-196.29 |
Cocoa butter, also called theobroma oil, is a pale-yellow, pure, edible vegetable fat extracted from the cocoa bean. It is used to make chocolate, as well as some ointments, toiletries, and pharmaceuticals.[1] Cocoa butter has a cocoa flavor and aroma.
Contents |
Composition and extraction [edit]
Cocoa butter contains a high proportion of saturated fats, derived from stearic and palmitic acids.[2][3][4] Cocoa butter, unlike cocoa solids, has no more than trace amounts of caffeine and theobromine.[5]
Cocoa butter is obtained from whole cacao beans, which are fermented, roasted, and then separated from their hulls. About 54–58% of the residue is cocoa butter. Chocolate liquor is pressed to separate the cocoa butter from the cocoa solids.[6] The Broma process is used to extract cocoa butter from ground cacao beans. Cocoa butter is usually deodorized to remove its strong and undesirable taste.[7]
Adulterants [edit]
Some food manufacturers substitute less expensive materials such as vegetable oils and fats (fillers and over-sized packaging) in place of cocoa butter. Several analytical methods exist for testing for diluted cocoa butter. Adulterated cocoa butter is indicated by its lighter colour and its diminished fluorescence upon ultraviolet illumination. Unlike cocoa butter, adulterated fat tends to smear and have a higher non-saponifiable content.[8]
Uses [edit]
Cocoa butter is the major ingredient in the commercial production of both white chocolate and milk chocolate. This application continues to dominate consumption of cocoa butter.
Pharmaceutical companies heavily use cocoa butter's physical properties. As a nontoxic solid at room temperature that melts at body temperature, it is considered an ideal base for medicinal suppositories.[9]
Personal care [edit]
Cocoa butter is one of the most stable fats known, a quality that coupled with natural antioxidants that prevent rancidity; It has a storage life of two to five years. The velvety texture, pleasant fragrance and emollient properties of cocoa butter have made it a popular ingredient in products for the skin, such as cosmetics, soaps and lotions.
The moisturizing abilities of cocoa butter are frequently recommended for prevention of stretch marks in pregnant women, treatment of chapped or burned skin and lips, and as a daily moisturizer to prevent dry, itchy skin.[9] Cocoa butter's moisturizing properties are also said to be effective for treating mouth sores.[10] However, the largest clinical study regarding the effects of cocoa butter on stretch marks in pregnant women found that results were no different from placebo.[11]
Physical properties [edit]
The most common form of cocoa butter has a melting point of around 34–38 °C (93–100 °F), rendering chocolate a solid at room temperature that readily melts once inside the mouth. Cocoa butter displays polymorphism, having α, γ, β', and β crystals, with melting points of 17, 23, 26, and 35–37 °C respectively. The production of chocolate typically uses only the β crystal for its high melting point. A uniform crystal structure will result in smooth texture, sheen, and snap. Overheating cocoa butter converts the structure to a less stable form that melts below room temperature. Given time, it will naturally return to the most stable β crystal form. This phenomenon is taken advantage of in the polymorphic transformation theory of chocolate bloom. It is based on the fact that bloomed chocolates are always found to contain the most stable polymorph of cocoa butter. According to this theory, bloom occurs through the uncontrolled polymorphic transformation of cocoa butter from a less stable form to the most stable form.
References [edit]
- ^ "Cocoa butter – Britannica Online Encyclopedia". Britannica Encyclopedia article. July 1998. Retrieved 2007-09-10.
- ^ "Composition of the Cocoa Bean". Hershey Center for Health & Nutrition. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
- ^ Liendo, Rigel; Fanny C. Padilla and Agricia Quintana (November 1997). "Characterization of cocoa butter extracted from Criollo cultivars of Theobroma cacao L.". Food Research International 30 (9): 727–731. doi:10.1016/S0963-9969(98)00025-8. PMID 11048595
- ^ El-Saied, Hani M.; M. K. Morsi, and M. M. A. Amer (June 1981). "Composition of cocoa shell fat as related to cocoa butter". Zeitschrift für Ernährungswissenschaft 20 (2): 145–151. doi:10.1007/BF02021260. PMID 7269661
- ^ USDA nutrient database
- ^ Cocoa butter pressing
- ^ The Nibble. "The World’s Best White Chocolate Page 3: Percent Cacao & Cocoa Butter". Retrieved 2009-03-03.
- ^ Alfred Thomas (2002). Fats and Fatty Oils. "Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. doi:10.1002/14356007.a10_173. ISBN 3-527-30673-0.
- ^ a b Chew, Norma (24 November 2011). "What Are The Benefits Of Cocoa Butter?". LiveStrong.com. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
- ^ Downey, Lillian (23 March 2010). "Uses For Cocoa Butter". LiveStrong. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
- ^ O'Connor, Anahad (2009-09-15). "The Claim: Cocoa Butter Can Remove Stretch Marks". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
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