Cocoa Butter
| Infobox on Cocoa Butter | |
|---|---|
| Example of Cocoa Butter |  |
| Facts | |
| Origin | West Africa, Brazil |
| Stowage factor (in m3/t) | - |
| Humidity / moisture | - |
| Ventilation | - |
| Risk factors | See text |
Cocoa Butter
Contents
Description
Cocoa butter is a semi-solidified oil obtained from Cocoa Beans.
Cocoa butter has a high content of saturated fats derived from stearic and palmitic acids. Cocoa butter, unlike cocoa solids, has no more than trace amounts of caffeine and theobromine.
The main constituent of cocoa butter is the triglyceride (fat) derived from palmitic acid, Stearic Acid, and oleic acids.
Cocoa butter is obtained from whole Cocoa 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. The Broma process is used to extract cocoa butter from ground cocoa beans. Cocoa butter is usually deodorized to remove its strong and undesirable taste.
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.
Physical and chemical information on cocoa beans, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, and Cocoa Powder
- A. The physics and chemistry of cocoa beans and cocoa products is very complex and changes throughout the life of the bean, depending on the processing it receives.
- B. The following gives an indication of the changes in the bean through its life, together with some references that give further more detailed information on the physics and chemistry of cocoa beans.
Cocoa beans
- C. Cocoa beans are the seeds of the tree Theobroma cacao. Each seed consists of two cotyledons (the nib) and a small embryo plant, all enclosed in a skin (the shell). The cotyledons store the food for the developing plant and become the first two leaves of the plant when the seed germinates. The food store consists of fat, known as cocoa butter, which amounts to about half the weight of the dry seed. The quantity of fat and its properties such as melting point and hardness depend on the variety of cocoa and the environmental conditions.
- D. The seeds are fermented which causes many chemical changes in both the pulp surrounding the seeds and within the seeds themselves. These changes cause the chocolate flavour to develop and the seeds to change colour. The seeds are then dried and despatched to processors as the raw material for the production of cocoa mass, cocoa powder and cocoa butter. The first stage of processing includes roasting the beans, to change the colour and flavour, and shell removal. After roasting and deshelling an alkalising process can take place, to alter flavour and colour.
- E. One analysis of the chemical composition of beans after fermentation and drying is as follows: