Fiore Cecilia, Rutherford Tom, Giuffrida Francesca, Marmet Cynthia, Simone Elena
Department of Applied Science and Technology (DISAT), Politecnico di Torino, Torino 10129, Italy.
Nestlé Product Technology Centre Confectionery, Haxby Road, York YO31 8TA, U.K.
Cryst Growth Des. 2025 Apr 4;25(8):2700-2716. doi: 10.1021/acs.cgd.5c00227. eCollection 2025 Apr 16.
Due to the increasing global demand for chocolate products and changes in consumer preferences, chocolate manufacturers have recently started to explore novel solutions to reformulate chocolate. Milk fat alternatives (MFA) are blends of triglycerides from different plant-based sources that resemble anhydrous milk fat in physical properties, particularly thermal behavior and solid fat content. However, in order to use MFA as potential ingredients for vegan milk chocolate formulations, it is necessary to understand their crystallization behavior, particularly in light of their chemical composition. Here, we applied synchrotron X-ray scattering, polarized light microscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry to investigate the crystallization behavior of four selected commercial MFAs (MF1, 2, 3, and 4), on their own and mixed with cocoa butter (CB). Chemical characterization revealed significant differences among samples and with both anhydrous milk fat (MF) and CB. POP-rich MF1 presented a specific polymorphic and thermal behavior, with the unstable β' form persisting for longer times than all other samples. Sample MF2 exhibited a polymorphic behavior more similar to CB in terms of number, type, and melting behavior due to the compositional similarities (e.g., prevalence of both SOS and POP). SOS-rich MF3 was characterized by metastable forms γ and β'(3L), whereas MF4 at ambient conditions showed only β(2L) forms due to its specific composition. Mixtures of CB and all MFAs behaved similarly to CB and MF mixtures, with good miscibility at ambient temperature and a lower melting point. Despite significant differences in chemical composition, MF4 presented similar solid fat content compared to MF; this is due to the high amount of relatively long chain, unsaturated fatty acids and the broad distribution of different TAGs, which all lower the melting point of this sample.
由于全球对巧克力产品的需求不断增加以及消费者偏好的变化，巧克力制造商最近开始探索重新配方巧克力的新解决方案。乳脂肪替代品（MFA）是来自不同植物来源的甘油三酯的混合物，其物理性质类似于无水乳脂肪，特别是热行为和固体脂肪含量。然而，为了将MFA用作纯素牛奶巧克力配方的潜在成分，有必要了解它们的结晶行为，特别是考虑到它们的化学成分。在这里，我们应用同步加速器X射线散射、偏光显微镜和差示扫描量热法来研究四种选定的商业MFA（MF1、2、3和4）单独以及与可可脂（CB）混合时的结晶行为。化学表征显示样品之间以及与无水乳脂肪（MF）和CB之间存在显著差异。富含POP的MF1呈现出特定的多晶型和热行为，不稳定的β'形式比所有其他样品持续更长时间。样品MF2在数量、类型和熔化行为方面表现出与CB更相似的多晶型行为，这是由于成分相似（例如，SOS和POP的普遍存在）。富含SOS的MF3的特征是亚稳形式γ和β'（3L），而MF4在环境条件下由于其特定组成仅显示β（2L）形式。CB和所有MFA的混合物表现得与CB和MF混合物相似，在环境温度下具有良好的混溶性且熔点较低。尽管化学成分存在显著差异，但MF4与MF相比呈现出相似的固体脂肪含量；这是由于相对长链的不饱和脂肪酸含量高以及不同TAG的广泛分布，所有这些都降低了该样品的熔点。
