Physical and sensory properties of chocolate made with lecithin of different origin

Abstract

The development of genetically modified foods, but also the use of therefrom produced ingredients in food manufacturing raises uncertainties and concerns in both producers and consumers. Lecithin from soy beans, which is most frequently used to modify the flow behavior of chocolate masses, is a prominent example of such an ingredient. In this study, lecithin of different origin, namely from soy bean, sunflower, or canola seeds, was incorporated into lecithin‐free masses of white and milk chocolate. The resulting products were analyzed with respect to flow behavior (molten masses), and hardness and color (solidified products); only negligible effects on these parameters were observed. A series of sensory experiments, aiming at detecting whether differences in taste and acceptance caused by the lecithin source exist, revealed that consumers were not able to distinguish between chocolates made with lecithin from different sources. Analyzing the attitudes of 161 subjects toward genetically modified foods revealed a general scepticism, especially as concerns long‐term environmental and health effects. Practical applications: The results obtained by physical analysis of chocolate and the results from acceptance testing are promising for chocolate producers who intend to replace soy lecithin by sunflower or canola lecithin. The lecithin source exhibited only a minor influence on viscosity, hardness, and color of white and milk chocolate, and consumers were not able to differentiate between chocolate with different lecithin. The results indicate that using sunflower or canola lecithin in chocolate production may be a successful approach for chocolate producers to meet consumers concerns regarding ingredients from genetically modified plants. Soy lecithin is the most commonly used flow enhancer in chocolate manufacture. Physical and sensory analysis shows that lecithin from sunflower or canola seeds may be used in a similar concentration without affecting physical or sensory properties of the resulting chocolates.

Importance of emulsifiers in chocolate industry: Effect on structure, machinability, and quality of intermediate and final products

“…Numerous studies have attempted to describe the emulsifiers and their concentrations; however, the specific relationship between them and color properties remains unknown. In a study performed by Böhme et al (2016), the effect of lecithin addition on product color was found to be significant in white chocolate, while it was detected as negligible for milk chocolate. In the study, it was concluded that the difference between the control and white chocolate samples containing different originated lecithin was within the range to allow visual discrimination according to the data in the color measurement analysis.…”

“…On the other hand, the color of the emulsifier may vary depending on the type, the source, and the production technique. For instance, crude lecithin is a viscous liquid with a color ranging from light yellow to brown (Pires et al, 2017), while PGPR, a highly viscous liquid, is defined as light brown in color (Mortensen, Aguilar, Crebelli, Di Domenico, Dusemund, et al, 2017), AMPs are appeared as a yellowish to light brown liquid material (Norn, 2015), According to the study of Böhme et al (2016), it was determined that there were differences in the L* values of white chocolates due to the different content of coloring compounds used in the preparation of commercial lecithins. In this respect, it should be taken into account that lecithin addition may affect the color perception expected from chocolate products, especially in white chocolate even if used in low amounts during production.…”

The Role of Emulsifiers on the Crystallization of Cocoa Butter and Cocoa Butter-sugar Blends

“…Emulsifiers can also be used to reduce particle interactions and are added to control the rheological properties of molten chocolate. 22,35 The common theory behind their mode of action is based on the adsorption of their polar head group to the polar particle surface of sugar, with the fatty acid moieties oriented away from the surface towards the continuous fat phase. 36 This, conceptually, is similar to how certain emulsifiers can stabilize water-in-oil emulsions, where the dispersed polar aqueous phase is analogous to dispersed polar sugar or cocoa solids.…”