Chocolate

Chocolate is a food based on cacao, a product that is known world-wide for its special flavour and texture.Towards the end of the XIX century, vegetable fat was used for the first time in chocolate. Chocolate manufacturers looked for alternative fats with similar properties to cocoa butter that were less expensive and offered consistent quality. By doing so they also achieved better stability and a longer sell-by date.

Chocolates and Chocolate Spreads

The oil and fat industry have developed numerous alternatives to cocoa butter, CBAs (Cocoa Butter Alternatives), for different reasons:

Cocoa butter has a high cost.
Cocoa butter needs a temperer.
It doesn’t give the product sheen.
Production costs are relatively high.
Its fusion properties are not ideal for all types of applications and climates.

Different alternative for cocoa butter

Various different CBAs have been designed, capable of partially or even totally replacing cocoa butter while maintaining good organoleptic characteristics in coatings.

There are 3 classifications of alternative CBAs:

CBE – CBI (Cocoa Butter Equivalents and Improvers )

This type of CBAs has a POP, POSt and StOSt composition similar to that of cocoa butter.
Their composition can be made up of fractions of palm oil which provide POP triglycerides, and fats rich in POSt and StOSt.
They have some properties similar to the CB (Texture, temperer)
They can substitute the CB in any amount without showing incompatibilities.
According to European legislations, CBEs can replace a total of 5% of cocoa butter, and the product be labelled as chocolate not as a substitute.

CBR

No temperer required
Non-lauric
Great compatibility with non-lauric fats
No risk of a Soap taste.
It is recommended that they are not mixed with more than 20-25 % of CB as incompatibilities may occur

CBS

Based on lauric fats
High quality fusion
No temperer required
Usually used for moulding products
Provides the cracking effect

LIPSA can offer you hydrogenated and non-hydrogenated CBAs, in order to achieve a high quality end product.

Chocolate spread and chocolate fillings

Chocolate spread

There are countless breakfast and snack products on the market that tempt children and adults alike. Chocolate spreads are produced using vegetable oils and fats which give the product perfect spreadability, palatability and nutritional qualities, as well as a good texture thanks to the correct crystallization of the raw materials used.

Chocolate for fillings

A good filling cream, whether it has a humid base or a dry one, should comply with certain parameters of consistency, viscosity, density and spreadability all of which can be influenced by the quality of the oil or the fat used.

LIPSA have a wide range of products for this type of application, and can offer you products with a specific profile of fatty acids. That are low in trans fats, with a particular consistency and texture, antifatbloom and that are easy to spread so that you can achieve the product that your consumers want.