COCOA BUTTER COMPOSITION, AND PROCESS FOR OBTAINING SAME

Abstract

The invention relates to a new cocoa butter composition, to a new process for obtaining same by one or more fractional molecular distillation procedures, and to the specific fractions obtained.

Claims

1.-20. (canceled)

21. A cocoa butter composition comprising a percentage by weight of palmitic fatty acid (C16:0) that is greater than or equal to 27%, calculated in relation to the total percentage by weight of fatty acids in the cocoa butter composition.

22. The composition according to claim 21, comprising a percentage by weight of palmitic fatty acid (C16:0) that is greater than or equal to 28%, preferably greater than 28.5%, 29%, 29.5%, 30%, 30.5%, 31%, 31.5%, 32%, 32.5% or 33%, calculated in relation to the total percentage by weight of fatty acids in the composition of the cocoa butter.

23. The composition according to claim 21, comprising a percentage by weight of stearic fatty acid (C18:0) that is less than or equal to 32%, calculated in relation to the total percentage by weight of fatty acids in the composition of the cocoa butter.

24. The composition according to claim 23, comprising a percentage by weight of stearic fatty acid (C18:0) that is less than 31%, preferably less than or equal to 29.5%, 29%, 28.5%, 28%, 275%, 27%, 26.5%, 26%, 25.5%, or 25%, calculated in relation to the total percentage by weight of fatty acids in the composition of the cocoa butter.

25. The composition according to the claim 21, comprising between 27% and 32% by weight of palmitic acid (C16:0), and between 32% and 25% by weight of stearic acid (C18:0).

26. The composition according to claim 25 comprising 29% by weight of palmitic acid (C16:0) and 25% by weight of stearic acid (C18:0).

27. The composition according to claim 25, comprising 27% by weight of palmitic acid (C16:0) and 30% by weight of stearic acid (C18:0).

28. A fractionation process for fractionating a refined cocoa butter into one or more distillate(s) and one or more residue(s), by one or more steps of molecular distillation of refined cocoa butter.

29. The process according to claim 28, combined with one or more step(s) of another process of separation by fractionation.

30. The process according to the claim 28, wherein the molecular distillation is carried out by a heat treatment process at a temperature that is greater than 250° C.

31. The process according to claim 29, wherein the distillation is carried out by a heat treatment process at a temperature that is comprised between 260° C. and 320° C.

32. The process according to the claim 28, wherein the distillation is carried out by a cooling from a temperature comprised between 250° C. and 320° C. to a temperature that is lower than 50° C.

33. The process according to the claim 28, in which the distillation is carried out at a pressure that is less than 0.10 mbar.

34. The process according to the claim 28, which includes addition to the cocoa butter distillate of sugar and optionally cocoa powder and/or a dairy ingredient.

35. The process of claim 34, which further comprises the steps of conching and tempering in order to form the chocolate.

36. The process according to claim 28, wherein the one or more distillate(s) presents the composition of cocoa butter comprising a percentage by weight of palmitic fatty acid (C16:0) that is greater than or equal to 27%, calculated in relation to the total percentage by weight of fatty acids in the cocoa butter composition.

37. The process according to claim 28, wherein the one or more distillate(s) present(s) the composition of cocoa butter comprising between 27% and 32% by weight of palmitic acid (C16:0), and between 32% and 25% by weight of stearic acid (C18:0).

38. The cocoa butter distillate obtained from the fractionation process according to the claim 28, which exhibits, at a temperature equal to or less than 20° C., a hardness—expressed in terms of solid content, that is lower than that of refined cocoa butter.

39. A food composition comprising the cocoa butter according to the claim 21 or a cocoa butter distillate which exhibits, at a temperature equal to or less than 20° C., a hardness—expressed in terms of solid content, that is lower than that of refined cocoa butter.

40. The composition according to claim 39, in which the cocoa butter or the cocoa butter distillate replaces the olein fat of the palm oil or other solid or liquid fats of animal or plant origin, whether or not treated in order to modify the composition and the texture, for a percentage of at least 0.5%, preferably for a minimum percentage equal to or greater than 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, and at most 100% of the quantity of olein fat.

41. The food composition according to claim 39, selected from the group consisting of spreads of the water-in-oil type or of the oil-in-water type, including chocolate spreads, ice creams, ganaches and couverture chocolate, anhydrous fillings, chocolate bars or chocolate drinks.

42. A cosmetic composition comprising the cocoa butter according to the claim 21 or a cocoa butter distillate which exhibits, at a temperature equal to or less than 20° C., a hardness—expressed in terms of solid content, that is lower than that of refined cocoa butter, and one or more cosmetic active substance(s).

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0051] FIG. 1 schematically represents the various different steps of the method of the invention.

[0052] FIG. 2 schematically represents an example of a molecular distillation column.

[0053] FIG. 3 represents the yield of distillate from a cocoa butter treated by fractionation, as a function of the evaporation temperature.

[0054] FIG. 4 represents the melting profile (content of solid fats at different temperatures) determined by NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) of different fractions obtained by the process of the invention compared to that of untreated cocoa butter.

[0055] FIGS. 5 and 6 respectively represent the NMR determined melting profile of the fractions of cocoa butter distillates obtained for different evaporation temperatures at different temperatures referred to as “tempering” temperatures (at 20° C. and 26° C. for FIG. 4, and at 26° C. for FIG. 5).

[0056] FIGS. 7 and 8 respectively represent the DSC (differential scanning calorimetry) melting profiles of the fractions of distillates and of cocoa butter residues obtained by the process of the invention for different evaporation temperatures.

[0057] FIG. 9 shows the fatty acid profile of the different fractions of the compositions of the invention as a function of the temperatures applied.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0058] The process according to the invention is characterised by the following steps shown schematically in the appended FIG. 1: [0059] An unprocessed cocoa butter, preferably refined or partially refined, is heated, in which the proportion of free fatty acids (FFA for Free Fatty Acids) is less than 1.75%, in particular less than 1.5%, or close to 1.3%, in a manner such as to render it entirely into liquid form and so as to supply the installation continuously; the cocoa butter is then entrained in the installation under vacuum and is heated indirectly by making use of a thermal fluid, up to a sufficient and necessary temperature, so as to ensure partial evaporation of its constituents; [0060] the vapours thus formed are condensed on the condenser of the installation which is maintained at a temperature that is lower than the evaporation temperature and also higher than the melting point of the fraction collected, in order to ensure the flow thereof. This fraction obtained is described as being the “distillate” or “the olein”; [0061] the cocoa butter that has passed through the evaporator and which has not vaporised, is cooled to a temperature that is lower than the evaporation temperature, but also higher than the melting point of the fraction obtained and described as being the “residue” or “retentate” or “stearin”.

[0062] The schematic diagram representing a type of non-exclusive (non-proprietary) molecular distillation column is shown in FIG. 2, as well as in the commercial brochure of the company VTA Verfahrenstechnische Anlagen GmbH & Co. KG, Bernrieder Str. 10 D-94559 Niederwinkling, Germany).

[0063] In the schematic diagram of FIG. 2, the reference numeral 1 represents the fat supply; reference 2 represents the obtaining of the distillate; reference 3, obtaining of the residue; reference 4, the heating element; reference 5, the cooling element; and reference 6, the vacuum creating device.

[0064] The molecular distillation of cocoa butter makes it possible to obtain two fractions: the distillate or “olein” and the residue or “stearin” in variable proportions depending on the parameters applied.

[0065] The graph in FIG. 3 illustrates the effect of the temperature of the evaporator on the yield of the distillate and the graphs in FIGS. 4 to 6 present the impact of the evaporation temperature on the quality of the fractions obtained (distillates and residues) characterised by the melting profile.

[0066] Consequently, the advantageous particularity of the molecular distillation process implemented is to make it possible in an unexpected manner, to obtain very different distillates from the starting cocoa butter while also recovering one or more residue(s) whose behaviour is very close to that of the untreated cocoa butter.

[0067] Indeed, the distillates obtained by the process of the invention in an unexpected and advantageous manner exhibit a texture that is less hard or firm than that of the untreated cocoa butter, with a melting curve that is less steep than that of the cocoa butter, because the distillate obtained at 260° C. presents more solids at 25° C./30° C. and less solids at 20° C. and below.

[0068] As a consequence, this distillate is therefore a more heat-tolerant product. The residues obtained in an unexpected manner exhibit a texture that is very close to that of untreated cocoa butter, or even slightly more solid, and can therefore be used under the same conditions as this untreated cocoa butter.

[0069] Thus, the two fractions obtained are each independently recoverable and applicable in multiple food or non-food technical fields, in particular in cosmetics.

[0070] The NMR curves were also produced after tempering of the products. The so-called “tempering” operation is very important for cocoa butter, because it will provide the ability to obtain a stable and orderly crystallisation of the fat. Commonly, cocoa butter and “solid” fractions are tempered at 26° C., while more “liquid” fractions are tempered at 20° C.

[0071] The fractions obtained were also characterised on the basis of other methods of analysis, such as differential scanning calorimetry or DSC as presented in FIGS. 7 and 8 (with and without tempering) and expressed in percentage % of liquid obtained by calculation of the ratios of surface areas (enthalpy).

[0072] The graph of FIG. 9 presents the typical fatty acid composition of the different fractions obtained by varying a single key variable of the process of the invention: the evaporation temperature.

Example 1: DSC Measurement with Tempering

[0073] Fill a capsule with previously melted fat and place the sample for a period of 10 minutes at 60° C. Then place the sample for a period of 1 hour 30 minutes at 0° C. before placing the sample for a period of 40 hours at the desired temperature (20° C., 26° C., etc).

[0074] DSC measurement—AOCS (American Oil Chemists' Society) method: [0075] AOCS Cj 1-94: official method (=86 minutes): [0076] 20 to 80° C. (15° C./minute) [0077] 80° C. for 10 minutes [0078] 80° C. to −60° C. (−10° C./minutes) [0079] −60° C. for 30 minutes [0080] −60° C. to 80° C. (5° C./minutes)

Example 2: NMR Measurement with Tempering

[0081]

TABLE-US-00001 AOCS Cd 16-18 Tubes of samples External diameter (mm) 10.0 ± 0.1 Wall thickness (mm)  0.6 Length (mm) 150 Material glass Sample quantity   4 ± 1 cm Operating conditions Mixing at temperature (° C.) 100 5 to 10 minutes at ° C. 60 Time at 0° C. (minutes) 90 Time at 26° C. (hours) 40 Time at 0° C. (minutes) 90 Time at 5° C. (minutes) 60 Time at 10° C. & more (minutes) 60

Example 3: NMR Measurement without Tempering: (Referred to as Rapid Method)

[0082] This method is based on the use of the following material: [0083] An apparatus for Nuclear Magnetic Resonance MINISPEC MQ 20 [0084] PYREX tubes measuring 10 mm in diameter; [0085] Three calibration standards with tube 1 (0%), tube 2 (30.2%) and tube 3 (73.8%); [0086] Four cryostats: Julabo at temperatures of 0° C., 5° C., 18° C., 30° C.

[0087] The analysis of the sample is carried out by means of the following steps: [0088] Heat the sample in a “water bath”, in an oven or by means of a microwave heating device, in order to ensure that it is completely liquid; [0089] Introduce the sample tested by using a 5 ml syringe, into the Pyrex tube up to the half-way point; [0090] Place the tube in the heating rack for a period of 10 minutes; [0091] Take the tube out of the rack, place it in the vessel containing the liquid nitrogen for a period of 1 minute; [0092] Take the tube out of the vessel and insert it in the rack of the appropriate water bath (0, 5, 18, 30° C.) for a period of 7 minutes; [0093] Take the tube out of the water bath and insert it into the measuring apparatus; [0094] The result read is expressed as a percentage % of solid in the fat. The result measured by the apparatus (value=x) must be calculated according to the following formula: NMR reading Corman (coordinate manipulation and analysis)=SI (x<32.5; x*0.941358025; 30.5+(x−32.4)*0.956834532)

[0095] This method differs from the ISO method known to the person skilled in the art for this type of measurement by way of the following elements: [0096] Faster cooling of the sample in liquid nitrogen (ISO=60 min. at 0° C.)); [0097] A shorter analysis time (ISO=30 minutes at the appropriate temperature)

Example 4: Analysis of the Fatty Acid Profile

[0098] Determination of the composition of fatty acid methyl esters of the fat by capillary column gas chromatography (CGC).

[0099] Materials: Chromatograph equipped with a capillary column with intermediate polarity, a flame ionization detector (FID), a computer with integration software.

[0100] Principle of the Method: The fat is esterified in the presence of methanol. The fatty acid methyl esters are separated on an intermediate polar column and are raised according to their molecular weight. The surface area corresponding to each of them is calculated and reported in relation to the total surface area of the various fatty acids in order to obtain a percentage.