A synchrotron X-ray scattering study of the crystallization behavior of mixtures of confectionary triacylglycerides: Effect of chemical composition and shear on polymorphism and kinetics

• Published in: Food research international 2024-02, Vol.177, p.113864-113864, Article 113864
• Main Authors: Simone, Elena, Rappolt, Michael, Ewens, Holly, Rutherford, Tom, Marty Terrade, Stephanie, Giuffrida, Francesca, Marmet, Cynthia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0963-9969; 1873-7145
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2023.113864

Cocoa butter equivalents (CBE) are mixtures of triglycerides from multiple sources (e.g., sunflower oil, mango kernel and sal), which resemble cocoa butter (CB) in both physical and chemical properties. Despite being widely used to replace CB in chocolate products, the crystallization behavior of many CBEs is still poorly understood. The aim of this work was to develop a fundamental understanding, at the molecular level, of the crystallization behavior of selected CBEs, and compare it with that of CB. Chromatography was used to determine the composition of CBEs, in terms of fatty acids and triacylglycerides (TAGs), while their thermodynamic behavior and crystallization kinetics were studied using polarized microscopy, differential calorimetry and three different synchrotron X-ray scattering setups. CBEs of different origin and chemical composition (e.g., different ratios of the main CB TAGs, namely POP, SOS and POS) crystallized in different polymorphs and with different kinetics of nucleation, growth and polymorphic transformation. SOS rich CBEs presented showed more polymorphs than CB and POP rich samples; whereas, CBEs with high concentration of POP showed slow kinetic of polymorphic transformation towards the stable β(3L) form. Additionally, it was observed that the presence of small amounts (