No abstract

Sunflower stearins obtained by the fractionation of high-oleic-high-stearic sunflower oil (HOHS) can be used for cocoa butter equivalents (CBE). The main objectives of this work were: (1) Compare the performance of two sunflower stearin-based CBE (palm-free and palm-containing) with commercial CBE and cocoa butter (CB) in terms of heat stability, hardness, and microstructure and (2) Test these sunflower stearin-based CBE in milk chocolate and compound-coating formulations to understand the evolution of their crystalline structure and the bloom development during storage. Sunflower stearin-based CBE exhibited different polymorphic behaviors, as well as a smaller and more compact microstructure than commercial CBE and CB. Although sunflower stearin-based CBE contain less-saturated fatty acids than commercial ones, they had more solids at high temperature and higher hardness and could work as a CB improver. On the other hand, the use of increasing levels of sunflower stearin-based CBE formulated and tested in this work on chocolate and compound-coating formulations favored a faster crystallization into a more stable polymorph, and influenced the bloom evolution of these confectionery products.

No abstract

No abstract