WO2019074438A1

WO2019074438A1 - Heat stable chocolate

Info

Publication number: WO2019074438A1
Application number: PCT/SE2018/051043
Authority: WO
Inventors: Morten Daugaard Andersen
Original assignee: Aak Ab (Publ)
Priority date: 2017-10-13
Filing date: 2018-10-12
Publication date: 2019-04-18
Also published as: MX2020003350A

Abstract

A heat stable chocolate is disclosed, the heat stable chocolate comprising a fat phase, said fat phase of said heat stable chocolate comprising: triglycerides in an amount of 60 –100 % by weight of said fat phase, Sat(C16-C24)OSat(C16-C24) triglycerides in an amount of 30.0 –99.5 % by weight of said fat phase, wherein Sat(C16-C24) stands for a C16 –C24 saturated fatty acid and O stands for oleic acid, Sat(C16-C24)Sat(C16-C24)O triglycerides in an amount of 0.5 –20.0 % by weight of said fat phase, crystalline seed in an amount of 0.1 -15% by weight of said fat phase, wherein said crystalline seed comprises SatOSat-triglycerides in an amount of 40- 00% by weight of said crystalline seed, wherein Sat stands for a saturated fatty acid, wherein an endotherm melt peak position of said crystalline seed is about 40 degrees Celsius or higher when measured by Differential Scanning Calorimetry by heating 1 samples of 40 +/-4 mg of crystalline seed from 30 degrees Celsius to 65 degrees Celsius ata rate of 3 degrees Celsius per minute to produce a melting thermogram defining said endotherm melt peak position, wherein the heat stable chocolate is free of sorbitan-tri-esters of stearate. Also, a method of producing a heat stable chocolate, useof aheat stable chocolate, and use of Sat(C16-C24)Sat(C16-C24)O triglyceridesis disclosed.

Description

HEAT STABLE CHOCOLATE TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates the field of chocolate. Particularly, it relates to a heat stable chocolate, a method of producing a heat stable chocolate, and use of a heat stable chocolate.

BACKGROUND

Chocolate is throughout the world regarded as being one of the finest types of confectionary and various types and shapes of chocolate confectionary have been developed over the years. The innovation within the field of chocolate has been much focused on sensory aspects, such as taste, and mouth feel. However, also the visual appearance is an important aspect in the consumer's overall perception of the quality of a chocolate confectionary. Accordingly, the visual appearance of a chocolate confectionary plays a key role for the chocolate manufacturer because a less attractive appearance of the confectionary will easily be judged by the consumer to relate to a confectionary of inferior quality.

A further issue is that an increasing number of manufacturers and consumers are concerned about the origin of the ingredients in food products, including chocolate. Ingredients of natural origin are preferred, and addition of synthetic additives not naturally present may be seen as decreasing the value of a product. This trend may be known as "clean labelling". One additive that may desirable to avoid include sorbitan esters, particularly sorbitan-tri-esters of stearate and/or palmitate, especially sorbitan- tri-esters of stearate.

An important problem relating to the visual appearance of a chocolate confectionary is the bloom effect which may be easily recognizable on the surface of the chocolate. In case blooming has occurred, the surface of the chocolate confectionary will have a rather dull appearance having less gloss and often having clearly visible bloom crystals on the surface. The appearance of bloom, if any, typically takes place after weeks or months of storage. Especially storage at high temperatures in warmer regions may be problematic with respect to the stability of the chocolate product leading to bloom appearing faster and thus affecting the shelf life of the chocolate.

Chocolate generally comprises cocoa butter, cocoa solids and sugar. Milk fat and other ingredients may be present in chocolate compositions as well.

In the manufacturing process of chocolate, the ingredients are mixed. The mixture is subjected to a tempering process in a tempering apparatus in which the chocolate is subjected to a carefully pre-programmed temperature profile. Subsequently, the chocolate is used for making the chocolate confectionary and the resulting confectionary is cooled following a predetermined cooling program.

The tempering process serves the purpose of making a sufficient amount of a desired type of seed crystals, which in turn is responsible for obtaining a rather stable chocolate product less prone to changes in the crystal composition of the solid fats.

Bloom in chocolate is a well-studied phenomenon and among chocolate manufactures it is agreed that the bloom effect somehow is related to solid fat crystal transformations that may take place in the chocolate.

In the prior art, various ways of diminishing the bloom effect in chocolates have been suggested.

Sato et al, JAOCS, Vol. 66, no.12, 1989, describe the use of crystalline seed to accelerate the crystallization going on in cocoa butter and dark chocolate upon solidification.

JP 2008206490 discloses a tempering promoter in the form of SUS-type triglycerides, where S is a saturated fatty acid having 20 or more carbon atoms and U is an unsaturated fatty acid such as oleic acid.

EP 0 294 974 A2 describes a powdery tempering accelerator also based on SUS-type triglycerides having a total number of carbon atoms of the constituent fatty acid residues of between 50 and 56. The tempering accelerator is added, for example, as dispersion in a dispersion medium, as a seed for desired crystal formation to the chocolate during the production.

Accordingly, in the art of manufacturing chocolate or chocolate-like products, there still exists a need for improving the heat related bloom stability of such products while satisfying wishes to avoid other emulsifiers than lecithin, particularly sorbitan-tri- esters of stearate and/or palmitate, particularly sorbitan-tri-esters of stearate.

SUMMARY

The invention relates in a first aspect to a heat stable chocolate comprising a fat phase, said fat phase of said heat stable chocolate comprising: triglycerides in an amount of 60 - 100 % by weight of said fat phase,

Sat(C16-C24)OSat(C16-C24) triglycerides in an amount of 30.0 - 99.5 % by weight of said fat phase, wherein Sat(C16-C24) stands for a C16 - C24 saturated fatty acid and O stands for oleic acid,

Sat(C16-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides in an amount of 0.5 - 20.0 % by weight of said fat phase, crystalline seed in an amount of 0.1 - 15% by weight of said fat phase, wherein said crystalline seed comprises SatOSat-triglycerides in an amount of 40- 100%) by weight of said crystalline seed, wherein Sat stands for a saturated fatty acid, wherein an endotherm melt peak position of said crystalline seed is about 40 degrees Celsius or higher when measured by Differential Scanning Calorimetry by heating samples of 40 +/- 4 mg of crystalline seed from 30 degrees Celsius to 65 degrees Celsius at a rate of 3 degrees Celsius per minute to produce a melting thermogram defining said endotherm melt peak position, wherein the heat stable chocolate is free of sorbitan-tri-esters of stearate.

One significant advantage of the invention is that the heat stable chocolate has a high heat resistance, including high bloom resistance while avoiding certain undesirable component to be included in the labelling, hereunder particularly sorbitan-tri-esters of stearate. This high heat resistance allows the heat stable chocolate to endure quite harsh environments of elevated temperatures and temperature variations while preserving long-term bloom resistance.

The invention relates in another aspect to a method of producing a heat stable chocolate, said method comprising the steps of:

a) providing a chocolate composition comprising a fat phase, said fat phase comprising

triglycerides in an amount of 60 - 100 % by weight of said fat phase,

Sat(C16-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides in an amount of 0.5 - 20.0 % by weight of said fat phase, b) adjusting the temperature of said chocolate composition to 25-39 degrees Celsius, c) adding crystalline seed in an amount of 0.1 -15% by weight of said fat phase during stirring to produce a seeded chocolate composition, and

d) processing said seeded chocolate composition to obtain said heat stable chocolate.

Further aspects are use of the heat stable chocolate according or any of its embodiments or the heat stable chocolate produced by the method of the invention or any of its embodiments for molding, coating, enrobing or filling applications.

Still further aspects are uses of Sat(C16-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides, wherein Sat(C16-C24) stands for a C16 - C24 saturated fatty acid and O stands for oleic acid, for making heat stable chocolate, such as a heat stable chocolate of the invention or any of its embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Definitions

As used herein, the term "fatty acid" encompasses free fatty acids and fatty acid residues in triglycerides.

As used herein "edible" is something that is suitable for use as food or as part of a food product, such as a dairy or confectionary product. An edible fat is thus suitable for use as fat in food or food product and an edible composition is a composition suitable for use in food or a food product, such as a dairy or confectionary product.

As used herein, "%" or "percentage" all relates to weight percentage i.e. wt.% or wt- % if nothing else is indicated.

As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

As used herein, "at least one" is intended to mean one or more, i.e. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, etc. As used herein, "vegetable oil" and "vegetable fat" is used interchangeably, unless otherwise specified.

As used herein, the term "endotherm melt peak position" may refer to the position of a melt peak, which may be the main endotherm melt peak or it may be a smaller melt peak.

As used herein "100%" is intended to include any percentage falling under this number using commonly known rounding off rules. Since 99.5% is rounded of to 100%), this is also included. Therefore, intervals herein being bounded by "100%", such as 60 - 100 %, does not intend to cover unrealizable, perfect purity, i.e. where not a single molecule of impurity exists. Rather, such intervals cover every realizable embodiment within, e.g. up to a purity of 99.99% or higher if possible.

As used herein, "interesterification" should be understood as replacing one or more of the fatty acid moieties of a triglyceride with another fatty acid moiety or exchanging one or more fatty acid moieties from one triglyceride molecule to another. A fatty acid moiety may be understood as a free fatty acid, a fatty acid ester, a fatty acid anhydride, an activated fatty acid and/or the fatty acyl part of a fatty acid. The term "transesterification" as used herein may be used interchangeably with "interesterification". The interesterification process may be an enzymatic

interesterification or chemical interesterification. Both chemical interesterification and enzymatic interesterification is described well in the art. Both chemical and enzymatic interesterification may be done by standard procedures. As used herein a "chocolate" is to be understood as chocolate and/or chocolate-like products. Some chocolate comprises cocoa butter, typically in substantial amounts, where some chocolate-like product may be produced with a low amount of or even without cocoa butter, e.g. by replacing the cocoa butter with a cocoa butter equivalent, cocoa butter substitute, etc. Also, many chocolate products comprise cocoa powder or cocoa mass, although some chocolate products, such as typical white chocolates, may be produced without cocoa powder, but e.g. drawing its chocolate taste from cocoa butter. Depending on the country and/or region there may be various restrictions on which products may be marketed as chocolate. By a chocolate product is meant a product, which at least is experienced by the consumer as chocolate or as a confectionery product having sensorial attributes common with chocolate, such as e.g. melting profile, taste etc.

As used herein, the term "fraction" shall in this regard be understood to be a product remaining after a physical separation of the constituents of a natural source of a fat. This product may subsequently be subjected to a interesterification. In this context, the term "bloom resistance" refers to a property of the chocolate to resist bloom formation. Increased or improved bloom resistance in a chocolate in the present context thus implies that the chocolate has a higher resistance towards surface blooming.

As used herein, the term "triglycerides" may be used interchangeably with the term "triacylglycerides" and should be understood as an ester derived from glycerol and three fatty acids. "Triglycerides" may be abbreviated TG or TAG. A single triglyceride molecule, having a specific molecular formula, is of either vegetable or non- vegetable origin. Some triglycerides, like for example StOSt-triglycerides, may be obtained from both vegetable and/or non-vegetable sources. Thus, a fat phase comprising StOSt-triglycerides, may comprise StOSt-triglycerides obtained solely from vegetable sources or StOSt-triglycerides obtained solely from non-vegetable sources or a combination thereof i.e. said fat phase may comprise some StOSt- triglyceride molecules obtained from vegetable sources and some StOSt-triglycerides molecules obtained from non-vegetable sources.

As used herein, the term "vegetable" shall be understood as originating from a plant retaining its original chemical structure. Thus, vegetable fat or vegetable

triglycerides are still to be understood as vegetable fat or vegetable triglycerides after fractionation etc. as long as the chemical structures of the fat components or the triglycerides are not altered. When vegetable triglycerides are for example interesterified they are no longer to be understood as a vegetable triglyceride in the present context.

Similarly, the term "non- vegetable" in the context of "non- vegetable triglyceride" or "non-vegetable fat" when used herein is intended to mean obtained from other sources than native vegetable oils or fractions thereof, or obtained after

transesterification. Examples of non- vegetable triglycerides may for example be, but are not limited to, triglycerides obtained from unicellular organisms, animal fat, and/or transesterification. As used herein "crystalline seed" is intended to mean a seed comprising crystals capable of seeding a chocolate in predominantly form V. The crystalline seed may be solid or it may be partly melted, such as for example in a slurry, partly molten, paste- like state. When solid, the crystalline seed may be in the form of particles, where such particles include flakes, pellets, granules, chips, and powder.

As used herein, the term "slurry" is a partly melted composition, where at least some seed crystals capable of seeding chocolate are present. Thus, a "slurry" may also for example be understood as a partly melted suspension, partly molten suspension or a paste.

As used herein "partly melted" is intended to mean not totally melted and not totally solid or crystalline. Within a certain temperature range the seed product has to be melted enough to be pumpable, and may not be melted to an extent that no seed crystals capable of seeding chocolate remains. In certain embodiments partly melted may be understood narrower, for example that a certain percentage is melted and a certain percentage is non-melted, i.e. solid or crystalline. This may for example be represented by the solid fat content (SFC). Several methods for measuring SFC are known in the art.

As used herein "cocoa butter equivalent" is intended to mean an edible fat having very similar chemical and physical properties and being compatible with cocoa butter without any significant effect on the behavior of the chocolate. In both cocoa butter and cocoa butter equivalent the fatty acids are typically palmitic, stearic and oleic acids and the triglycerides are typically 2-oleo di-saturated (SatOSat). In spite of their similarity to cocoa butter, cocoa butter equivalents can be detected in chocolate by their triglyceride ratios which are appreciably different from those in cocoa butter. Cocoa butter equivalents are e.g. made from a mix of palm mid fraction and a fractionated part of shea stearin or another oil fraction rich in SatOSat triglycerides where Sat is a saturated fatty acid having a chain length longer than CI 6. As used herein "cocoa butter improver" is intended to mean a harder version (i.e. has a higher solid fat content) of cocoa butter equivalent due to a higher content of high melting SatOSat triglycerides such as StOSt triglycerides and/or StOA triglycerides. It is usually used in chocolate formulations having a high content of milk fat or those meant for tropical climates. It improves the heat stability of soft cocoa butter varieties, adds more solid fat and thereby increases hardness in chocolate products.

As used herein a "heat stable chocolate" is a chocolate which has a relatively high resistance to heat, and heat-related effects, particularly bloom. The heat stable chocolate will in certain embodiments retain this heat stability, particularly bloom stability, at temperatures above which such stability is normally lost for conventional chocolate products. As used herein the term "Sat(C16-C24)OSat(C16-C24) triglycerides" is intended to refer to triglycerides having C16 - C24 saturated fatty acids in the sn-1 and sn-3 positions of the triglyceride and oleic acid in the sn-2 position of the triglyceride. The Sat(C16-C24)OSat(C16-C24) triglycerides are a specific group of triglycerides, which is part of the more generic group "triglyceride", which is the group of all triglycerides.

As used herein the term "Sat(C18-C24)OSat(C18-C24)" is intended to mean triglycerides having a CI 8 - C24 saturated fatty acid in the sn-1 position and in the sn-2 position of the triglyceride, and oleic acid in the sn-3 position of the

triglyceride.

Thus, Sat(C16-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides is intended to refer to triglycerides having either C16 - C24 saturated fatty acids in the sn-1 and sn-2 positions of the triglyceride and oleic acid in the sn-3 position of the triglyceride or C 16 - C24 saturated fatty acids in the sn-2 and sn-3 positions of the triglyceride and oleic acid in the sn-1 position of the triglyceride. I.e. for triglycerides, the naming XYZ and ZYX, e.g. StStO and OStSt, is used interchangeably.

As used herein the term "Sat(C16-C24)Sat(C18-C24)0" is intended to mean triglycerides having a C16 - C24 saturated fatty acid in the sn-1 position of the triglyceride and a C18 - C24 saturated fatty acid sn-2 position of the triglyceride, and oleic acid in the sn-3 position of the triglyceride.

As used herein the term Sat(C18-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 is intended to mean triglycerides having a CI 8 - C24 saturated fatty acid in the sn-1 position of the triglyceride and a C16 - C24 saturated fatty acid sn-2 position of the triglyceride, and oleic acid in the sn-3 position of the triglyceride.

Abbreviations

Sat = saturated fatty acid/acyl-group

U = unsaturated fatty acid/acyl-group

St = stearic acid/stearate

A = arachidic acid/arachidate

B = behenic acid/behenate

Lig = lignoceric acid/lignocerate

O = oleic acid/oleate

DSC = Differential Scanning Calorimetry

CB = cocoa butter

CBE = cocoa butter equivalent

CBI = cocoa butter improver

The invention relates to a heat stable chocolate comprising a fat phase, said fat phase of said heat stable chocolate comprising:

triglycerides in an amount of 60 - 100 % by weight of said fat phase, Sat(C 16-C24)OSat(C16-C24) triglycerides in an amount of 30.0 - 99.5 % by weight of said fat phase, wherein Sat(C16-C24) stands for a C16 - C24 saturated fatty acid and O stands for oleic acid,

Sat(C 16-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides in an amount of 0.5 - 20.0 % by weight of said fat phase,

crystalline seed in an amount of 0.1 - 15% by weight of said fat phase, wherein said crystalline seed comprises SatOSat-triglycerides in an amount of 40- 100%) by weight of said crystalline seed, wherein Sat stands for a saturated fatty acid, wherein an endotherm melt peak position of said crystalline seed is about 40 degrees Celsius or higher when measured by Differential Scanning Calorimetry by heating samples of 40 +/- 4 mg of crystalline seed from 30 degrees Celsius to 65 degrees Celsius at a rate of 3 degrees Celsius per minute to produce a melting thermogram defining said endotherm melt peak position,

wherein the heat stable chocolate is free of sorbitan-tri-esters of stearate.

It should be understood that the Sat(C16-C24)OSat(C16-C24) triglycerides, i.e. the triglycerides having C16 - C24 saturated fatty acids in the sn-1 and sn-3 positions of the triglyceride and oleic acid in the sn-2 position of the triglyceride, form part of the total amount of triglycerides comprised in said fat phase of the heat stable chocolate, which triglycerides are present in an amount of 60 - 100 % by weight of said fat phase.

Since 60.0-100%) by weight of said fat phase, such as 60.0-99.9%) by weight, is triglycerides, 0.1 - 40% by weight of said fat phase may be other fats than

triglycerides, such as free fatty acids, monoglycerides, diglycerides or any combination thereof.

Further, 30.0-99.5 % by weight of said fat phase is Sat(C16-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides, i.e. triglycerides having C16 - C24 saturated fatty acids in the sn-1 and sn-3 positions of the triglyceride and oleic acid in the sn-2 position of the

triglyceride. Examples of such Sat(C 16-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides are StOSt, POSt, POP, StOA, StOB, StOLig, AO A, AOB, AOLig, BOB, BOLig, and LigOLig. Of course, the Sat(C16 - C24)OSat(C16 - C24) triglycerides are part of total amount of triglycerides in said fat phase. Thus, as an illustrative example, if said fat phase comprises triglycerides in an amount of 70% by weight of said fat phase, then the content of Sat(C 16 - C24)OSat(C 16 - C24) triglycerides cannot exceed 70% by weight of said fat phase, i.e. in such cases the content of Sat(C16 - C24)OSat(C16 - C24) triglycerides would be 30.0 to 70 % by weight of said fat phase.

It has been found that a heat stable chocolate can be obtained by adjusting said fat phase of the chocolate to comprise crystalline seed based on SatOSat triglycerides. Very good results with respect to heat stability are obtained when said fat phase of the chocolate also comprises Sat(C16-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides.

Surprisingly, a synergy with respect to obtaining heat stability of the chocolate exists between different components in the chocolate. This has been discovered by the present inventor. By combining crystalline seed based on SatOSat-triglycerides with Sat(C16-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides in the chocolate, an improved heat stability of the resulting chocolate is obtained when compared to standard tempered chocolate or chocolate comprising only one or two of the mentioned chocolate components.

The improved heat stability is observed for chocolate comprising cocoa butter, a cocoa butter equivalent or combinations thereof. The improvement becomes evident when comparing heat stable chocolate according to embodiments of the invention with prior art chocolate or chocolate not comprising both the crystalline seed of the invention and Sat(C16-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides. This comparison may be made for example by comparing the tendency for surface bloom for the different chocolates.

According to an advantageous embodiment, said melting thermogram is obtained by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) by a METTLER TOLEDO DSC 823e with a HUBER TC45 immersion cooling system, where 40 +/- 4 mg samples of the chocolate confectionery product is hermetically sealed in a 100 microliter aluminum pan with an empty pan as reference to produce a DSC melting thermogram.

The crystalline seed material may be manufactured in different ways as long as the endotherm melt peak position of said crystalline seed itself is about 40 degrees Celsius or higher when measured by Differential Scanning Calorimetry by heating samples of 40 +/- 4 mg of crystalline seed from 30 degrees Celsius to 65 degrees Celsius at a rate of 3 degrees Celsius per minute to produce a melting thermogram defining said endotherm melt peak position. If the melting temperature of the crystalline seed is considerably lower than about 40 degrees Celsius, the heat stability of the chocolate may be compromised.

Seeding technology is known within the chocolate art. Crystalline seed as described herein may be obtained by various processes known to the skilled person. One method for obtaining suitable seed material having an endotherm melt peak position of about 40 degrees Celsius or higher may be to melt the edible fat comprised in the seed composition by applying heat, followed by storage of the edible fat at a temperature lower than about 40 degrees Celsius, for example at about 37 degrees Celsius, for about 20 hours. Another method involves making crystalline seed flakes by processing an edible fat in a scraped surface heat exchanger, followed by a transformation processing, and finally particulation to obtain the crystalline seed flakes. Thus, according to the invention, said fat phase comprises Sat(C 16-C24)OSat(C16- C24) triglycerides in an amount of between 30.0 to 99.5 % by weight. The Sat(C16- C24)OSat(C 16-C24) triglycerides are a part of the triglycerides, the triglycerides constituting 60 - 100% by weight of said fat phase, such as 60.0 - 99.9 % by weight of said fat phase. This means that, for example, in an embodiment where the triglyceride-content in said fat phase is 90% by weight of said fat phase, and the content of Sat(C16-C24)OSat(C16-C24) triglycerides in said fat phase is 70% by weight of said fat phase, there are 20% by weight of said fat phase of triglycerides other than Sat(C 16-C24)OSat(C16-C24) triglycerides in said fat phase. In this example, the 20% by weight of said fat phase of triglycerides other than Sat(C 16- C24)OSat(C 16-C24) triglycerides include the Sat(C16-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides.

The inventor surprisingly discovered that Sat(C16-C24)Sat(C 16-C24)0 triglycerides where usable, together with a crystalline seed, when making heat stable chocolate, and that quite spectacular results could be obtained, even without any sorbitan-tri- esters of stearate, i.e. without sorbitan-tri-stearate. Since Sat(C 16-C24)Sat(C16- C24)0 triglycerides and sorbitan-tri-stearate affect the chocolate by different mechanisms, the very good results where surprising to the inventor.

In some embodiments, it may be desirable to use Sat(C 16-C24)Sat(C18-C24)0 and/or Sat(C18-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides as the Sat(C16-C24)Sat(C16- C24)0 triglycerides, whereby not including PPO triglycerides. Thus, according to an embodiment of the invention said fat phase comprises

Sat(C 16-C24)Sat(C18-C24)0 triglycerides in an amount of 0.5 - 20.0 % by weight of said fat phase, such as 0.8 - 15.0 % by weight of said fat phase, such as 1.0 - 10.0 % by weight of said fat phase,

wherein Sat(C 18-C24) stands for a CI 8 - C24 saturated fatty acid, and O stands for oleic acid, It should be understood that the combined amount refers to the sum of the amount of Sat(C 16-C24)Sat(C18-C24)0 triglycerides and the amount of Sat(C18-C24)Sat(C16- C24)0 triglycerides. This combined amount may in some embodiments be formed solely by Sat(C 16-C24)Sat(C18-C24)0 triglycerides or the Sat(C 18-C24)Sat(C16- C24)0 triglycerides, whereas in other embodiments it is a combination. Thus, the presence of both Sat(C16-C24)Sat(C18-C24)0 and Sat(C18-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides is not required, but their combined amount must in the above embodiment be within 0.5 - 20.0 % by weight of said fat phase. Further, it should be understood that even in such embodiments, some amount of PPO triglycerides may be included in the heat stable chocolate, as long as the heat stable chocolate falls within the embodiment.

In some embodiments, it may be desirable to use Sat(C18-C24)Sat(C18-C24)0 triglycerides as the Sat(C 16-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides, whereby not including PPO triglycerides, StPO triglycerides, or PStO triglycerides.

Therefore, in an embodiment of the invention said fat phase comprises Sat(C18- C24)Sat(C 18-C24)0 and/or Sat(C18-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides in a combined amount of 0.5 - 20.0 % by weight of said fat phase, such as 0.8 - 15.0 % by weight of said fat phase, such as 1.0 - 10.0 % by weight of said fat phase, wherein Sat(C16-C24) stands for a C16 - C24 saturated fatty acid, Sat(C18-C24) stands for a C 18 - C24 saturated fatty acid, and O stands for oleic acid, Further, it should be understood that even in such embodiments, some amount of PPO triglycerides, StPO triglycerides, and/or PStO triglycerides may be included in the heat stable chocolate, as long as the heat stable chocolate falls within the embodiment. According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, said fat phase comprises triglycerides selected from StStO triglycerides, StAO triglycerides, AStO triglycerides, and combinations thereof in an amount of 0.5 - 20.0 % by weight of said fat phase.

Thus, in such embodiments, the Sat(C16-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides are selected from StStO triglycerides, StAO triglycerides, AStO triglycerides, and combinations thereof.

An advantage of the above embodiment may be that using Sat(C16-C24)Sat(C16- C24)0 triglycerides with Sat(C16-C24) fatty acids having a melting point similar to or slightly higher than fatty acids in cocoa butter, i.e. stearic acid and/or arachidic acid, may be advantageous.

Including an amount of higher melting SatOSat triglycerides have been found advantageous for some embodiments.

Therefore, according to an embodiment of the invention said fat phase has a weight- ratio between

triglycerides having CI 8 - C24 saturated fatty acids in the sn-1 and sn-3 positions of the triglyceride and oleic acid in the sn-2 position of the triglyceride, and

triglycerides having C16 - C24 saturated fatty acids in the sn-1 and sn-3 positions of the triglyceride and oleic acid in the sn-2 position of the triglyceride,

which is between 0.39 and 0.99, such as between 0.40 and 0.99, such as between 0.40 and 0.95, such as between 0.40 and 0.90, such as between 0.40 and 0.80, such as between 0.40 and 0.70, such as between 0.40 and 0.60, such as between 0.40 and 0.50.

The above weight-ratio may be obtained in different ways as follows.

According to an embodiment of the invention said weight-ratio between triglycerides having CI 8 - C24 saturated fatty acids in the sn-1 and sn-3 positions of the triglyceride and oleic acid in the sn-2 position of the triglyceride, and

is obtained by adding a cocoa butter improver, such as a shea stearin based cocoa butter improver and/or sal stearin based cocoa butter improver. Alternatively, cocoa butter improvers not based on shea stearin may be used. Examples of such include high melting triglycerides, particularly vegetable fats or fractions derived therefrom having a high content in StOSt-triglycerides, or other higher melting triglycerides, such as e.g. StOA, AOA, etc. Especially advantageous sources for such fat include vegetable fat selected from a group consisting of fats obtained from shea, sal, kokum, illipe, mango, mowra, cupuacu, allanblackia, pentadesma, any fraction or any combination thereof.

Further sources of high melting Sat(C18-C24)OSat(C18-C24) triglycerides include non-vegetable triglycerides, which may for example be, but are not limited to, triglycerides obtained from unicellular organisms, animal fat, and/or interesterification.

It should be understood that triglycerides obtained from unicellular organisms may be extracted using one or more of various techniques suitable and known within the field. It should be understood that in some embodiments the triglycerides obtained from unicellular organisms may be produced by only a single type of unicellular organisms, whereas in some other embodiments two or more different types of unicellular organisms are used. Examples of usable unicellular organisms are unicellular organisms selected from the group consisting of bacteria, algae or fungi, wherein fungi comprise yeast and mold. A still further source of Sat(C18-C24)OSat(C18-C24) triglycerides may be obtained from interesterification, including chemical interesterification or enzymatic interesterification. As an example, enzymatic interesterification may be performed by using an triglyceride source, such as a triglyceride source having a high content of triglycerides with oleic acid in the sn-2 position, such as high oleic sunflower oil, and a C18-C24 source, such as e.g. stearic acid methyl esters, under the influence of e.g. a 1,3-specific lipase, such as Rhizopus delemar, Mucor miehei, Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus arrhizus, Rhizopus niveus, Mucor javanicus, Rhizopus javanicus, Rhicomucor miezei, Rhizopus oxyzae, or combinations thereof. Other 1,3-specific lipases may also be used. Other C18-C24 source sources, such as stearic acid esters like stearic acid ethyl ester may be used. C18-C24 source anhydride, such as stearic acid anhydride, may also be used as the C18-C24 source in the interesterification reaction. In an alternative embodiment, the increased ratio may be obtained by using a high melting fraction of e.g. cocoa butter.

Having a high content of StOSt-triglycerides may in some embodiments be especially desirable, since the high content may assist in obtaining a high melting fat phase using triglycerides naturally present in cocoa butter.

According to an embodiment of the invention said fat phase has a weight-ratio between

triglycerides having C18 saturated fatty acids in the sn-1 and sn-3 positions of the triglyceride and oleic acid in the sn-2 position of the triglyceride, and

triglycerides having C16 - CI 8 saturated fatty acids in the sn-1 and sn-3 positions of the triglyceride and oleic acid in the sn-2 position of the triglyceride,

which is between 0.37 and 0.99, such as between 0.37 and 0.95, or such as between 0.40 and 0.99, such as between 0.40 and 0.95, such as between 0.40 and 0.90, such as between 0.40 and 0.80, such as between 0.40 and 0.70, such as between 0.

0.60, such as between 0.40 and 0.50.

Having a high content of Sat(C16-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides relative to the total amount of Sat(C16-C24)OSat(C16-C24) triglycerides may in some

embodiments be desirable as it may ensure a suitable relation between the triglycerides providing the desirable melting profile characteristic for chocolate on one hand and ensuring the heat stability of the resulting heat stable chocolate on the other hand.

triglycerides having a C16 - C24 saturated fatty acid in the sn-1 and sn-2 positions of the triglyceride, and oleic acid in the sn-3 position of the triglyceride, and

which is between 0.01 and 0.30, such as between 0.02 and 0.25, such as between 0.02 and 0.20, such as between 0.02 and 0.15.

Thus, the above weight ratio signifies the ratio between the Sat(C16-C24)Sat(C16- C24)0 triglycerides in the numerator and Sat(C16-C24)OSat(C16-C24) triglycerides in the denominator.

According to a further embodiment of the invention said fat phase has a weight-ratio between

triglycerides having a C16 - C24 saturated fatty acid in the sn-1 position of the triglyceride and CI 8 - C24 saturated fatty acid in the sn-2 position of the triglyceride, or vice versa, and oleic acid in the sn-3 position of the triglyceride, and triglycerides having C16 - C24 saturated fatty acids in the sn-1 and sn-3 positions of the triglyceride and oleic acid in the sn-2 position of the triglyceride,

Thus, the above weight ratio signifies the ratio between the sum of Sat(C 16- C24)Sat(C 18-C24)0 triglycerides and Sat(C 18-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides in the numerator and Sat(C16-C24)OSat(C16-C24) triglycerides in the denominator.

According to a still further embodiment of the invention said fat phase has a weight- ratio between

triglycerides having a CI 8 - C24 saturated fatty acid in the sn-1 and sn-2 positions of the triglyceride and oleic acid in the sn-3 position of the triglyceride, and

Thus, the above weight ratio signifies the ratio between the Sat(C 18-C24)Sat(C18- C24)0 triglycerides in the numerator and Sat(C16-C24)OSat(C 16-C24) triglycerides in the denominator.

Having a high content of Sat(C 16-C24)OSat(C16-C24) triglycerides may be advantageous, since these triglycerides are associated with the desirable chocolate characteristics, hereunder the attractive melt in the mouth characteristics. According to an even further embodiment of the invention said fat phase comprises Sat(C16-C24)OSat(C16-C24) triglycerides in an amount of 30.0 - 99.0 % by weight of said fat phase, such as 60.0 - 95.0 % by weight. Having a high content of StOSt triglycerides may be advantageous, since these triglycerides are associated with the desirable chocolate characteristics, hereunder the attractive melt in the mouth characteristics, and are present in cocoa butter, but have higher melting point that cocoa butter itself. According to a still even further embodiment of the invention said fat phase comprises StOSt-triglycerides in an amount of 0.1 - 50.0% by weight of said fat phase, such as such as 20 - 50% by weight, such as 25-45% by weight, wherein St stands for stearic acid and O stands for oleic acid. According to a further embodiment of the invention said fat phase comprises

Sat(C16-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides in an amount of 0.8 - 15.0 % by weight of said fat phase, such as 1.0 - 10.0 % by weight of said fat phase.

According to a still further embodiment of the invention said fat phase comprises triglycerides in an amount of 60.00 - 99.99 % by weight of said fat phase, such as 70 - 99% by weight, such as 80 - 99% by weight.

According to an even further embodiment of the invention said fat phase comprises crystalline seed in an amount of 0.2 - 12 % by weight of said fat phase, such as 0.3 - 10 % by weight, such as 0.5 - 10 % by weight.

According to a still even further embodiment of the invention said crystalline seed comprises SatOSat-triglycerides in an amount of 40.0-99.9%) by weight of said crystalline seed, such as 50 - 99% by weight, such as 60 - 99% by weight, such as 65-98% by weight. According to a further embodiment of the invention said crystalline seed comprises 40 - 99 % by weight of triglycerides having CI 8 - C24 saturated fatty acids in the sn-1 and sn-3 positions of the triglyceride and oleic acid in the sn-2 position of the triglyceride, such as 50 - 99 % by weight, such as 70 - 99 % by weight, such as 80 - 99 % by weight.

According to an even further embodiment of the invention said crystalline seed comprises StOSt-triglycerides, StOA-triglycerides, and AOA-triglycerides in a total amount of 40 - 99 % by weight the crystalline seed, such as 50 - 99 % by weight, such as 65 - 99 % by weight, wherein St stands for stearic acid, A stands for arachidic acid, and O stands for oleic acid.

According to a still further embodiment of the invention said crystalline seed comprises StOSt-triglycerides in an amount of 40 - 99 % by weight of said fat phase, such as 50 - 99 % by weight, such as 65 - 99 % by weight, wherein St stands for stearic acid and O stands for oleic acid.

According to an even further embodiment of the invention said crystalline seed has a weight-ratio between

- triglycerides having CI 8 - C24 saturated fatty acids in the sn-1 and sn-

3 positions of the triglyceride and oleic acid in the sn-2 position of the triglyceride, and

triglycerides having C16 - C24 saturated fatty acids in the sn-1 and sn- 3 positions of the triglyceride and oleic acid in the sn-2 position of the triglyceride,

which is between 0.40 and 0.99, such as between 0.45 and 0.99, such as between 0.50 and 0.99, such as between 0.55 and 0.99, such as between 0.60 and 0.99, such as between 0.65 and 0.99, such as between 0.70 and 0.99. According to a still even further embodiment of the invention said crystalline seed has a weight-ratio between triglycerides having C18 saturated fatty acids in the sn-1 and sn-3 positions of the triglyceride and oleic acid in the sn-2 position of the triglyceride, and

triglycerides having C16 - CI 8 saturated fatty acids in the sn-1 and sn- 3 positions of the triglyceride and oleic acid in the sn-2 position of the triglyceride,

which is between 0.40 and 0.99, such as between 0.45 and 0.99, such as between 0.50 and 0.99, such as between 0.55 and 0.99, such as between 0.60 and 0.99, such as between 0.65 and 0.99, such as between 0.70 and 0.99.

Depending on the triglyceride composition of the crystalline seed, the endotherm melt peak position may be at different temperatures. As an illustrative example, when using a StOSt triglyceride based crystalline seed, the endotherm melt peak position may typically be at 40 - 46 degrees Celsius, whereas if an AOA triglyceride based crystalline seed is used, the endotherm melt peak position may typically be higher. Using a BOB triglyceride based crystalline seed would typically result in even higher endotherm melt peak positions for the crystalline seed.

According to an even further embodiment of the invention said endotherm melt peak position is 40- 70 degrees Celsius, such as 40- 60 degrees Celsius, such as 40 - 55 degrees Celsius, such as 40 - 50 degrees Celsius.

According to a still further embodiment of the invention said endotherm melt peak position is 40 degrees Celsius - 46 degrees Celsius.

According to a still even further embodiment of the invention the endotherm melt peak position of said crystalline seed is 41 degrees Celsius or higher, such as 42 degrees Celsius or higher, such as 43 degrees Celsius or higher, when measured by Differential Scanning Calorimetry by heating samples of 40 +/- 4 mg of crystalline seed from 30 degrees Celsius to 65 at a rate of 3 degrees Celsius per minute to produce a melting thermogram. According to a further embodiment of the invention the endotherm melt peak position of said crystalline seed is about 44 degrees Celsius or higher, such as about 46 degrees Celsius or higher, such as about 47 degrees Celsius or higher or about 48 degrees Celsius or higher, when measured by Differential Scanning Calorimetry by heating samples of 40 +/- 4 mg of crystalline seed from 30 degrees Celsius to 65 at a rate of 3 degrees Celsius per minute to produce a melting thermogram.

A melt peak position of the seed of around 46 to 48 degrees Celsius may typically be obtainable, when the crystalline seed comprises at least 30 % by weight of AOA.

According to an even further embodiment of the invention the endotherm melt peak position of said crystalline seed is about 50 degrees Celsius or higher, such as about 51 degrees Celsius or higher, such as about 52 degrees Celsius or higher or about 53 degrees Celsius or higher, when measured by Differential Scanning Calorimetry by heating samples of 40 +/- 4 mg of crystalline seed from 30 degrees Celsius to 65 at a rate of 3 degrees Celsius per minute to produce a melting thermogram.

A melt peak position of the seed of around 50 to 53 degrees Celsius may typically be obtainable, when the crystalline seed comprises at least 30 % by weight of BOB. The melting point of polymorphic forms V is about 53 degrees Celsius. The crystalline seed may comprise different SatOSat-triglycerides, such as for example StOSt and BOB, and may thus comprise SatOSat-triglyceride crystals with different melting points, in which case a DSC measurement may display endotherm melt peak positions around 40 to 43 degrees Celsius as well as around 50 to 53 degrees Celsius.

In some embodiments, a melt peak position, measured on the heat stable chocolate, may be observed at about 37 degrees Celsius or higher. This melt peak position is advantageous as it will ensure that a fraction of the heat stable chocolate, the crystalline seed, remains solid at temperatures where a corresponding conventional chocolate would be completely melted. According to a still further embodiment of the invention an endotherm melt peak position of said heat stable chocolate is about 37 degrees Celsius or higher, such as about 38 degrees Celsius or higher, when measured by Differential Scanning Calorimetry by heating samples of 40 +/- 4 mg of heat stable chocolate from 30 degrees Celsius to 65 degrees Celsius at a rate of 3 degrees Celsius per minute to produce a melting thermogram defining said endotherm melt peak position.

According to the invention, the heat stable chocolate is free of sorbitan-tri-esters of stearate.

According to an embodiment of the invention said heat stable chocolate is free of sorbitan-tri-esters of stearate and/or palmitate.

Sorbitan-tri-esters of stearate and/or palmitate include sorbitan tri-esters with three stearic acids, i.e. tri-stearate, sorbitan tri-esters with three palmitic acids, i.e. tri- palmitate, sorbitan tri-esters with two stearic acids and one palmitic acid regardless of their positions, and sorbitan tri-esters with one stearic acid and two palmitic acids regardless of their positions. Sorbitan-tri-esters of stearate and/or palmitate may often be provided as a composition comprising small quantities sorbitan esters of other fatty acids on one or more of the positions, such as one or more of mystic acid, lauric acid, arachidic acid, and behenic acid. Such sorbitan-tri-esters of stearate and/or palmitate may be provided as a

composition of sorbitan esters, where of up to about 5% by weight of the fatty acids of the sorbitan esters may be other fatty acids than stearate and palmitate. Such compositions of sorbitan esters may commonly be referred to as "STS". According to an even further embodiment of the invention said heat stable chocolate is free of sorbitan esters. A significant advantage of the above embodiment may be that such sorbitan esters is avoided. For example, this may lead to compliance with legal requirements related to content declaration without having to list such sorbitan esters. In that sense, this allows to make a heat stable chocolate using natural and clean ingredients and which come with a relatively simple list of ingredients.

According to a still even further embodiment of the invention said heat stable chocolate is free of emulsifier not being lecithin.

For example, the heat stable chocolate may be free of emulsifiers not being lecithin selected from the group consisting of polysorbates, mono-glycerides, di-glycerides, poly-glycerol esters, propylene glycol esters, sorbitan esters and any combination thereof.

Sat(C16-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides may be obtained from various sources.

According to an embodiment of the invention said Sat(C16-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides comprises triglycerides obtained by interesterification.

In one embodiment said Sat(C16-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides are obtained by interesterification.

According to a further embodiment of the invention said Sat(C16-C24)Sat(C16- C24)0 triglycerides comprises triglycerides obtained from animal fat.

In one embodiment said Sat(C16-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides are obtained by animal fat. According to an even further embodiment of the invention, said heat stable chocolate has a main endotherm melt peak position movement, which moves less than 1 degree Celsius after a heat treatment consisting of 5 cycles consisting of maintaining the heat stable chocolate at 37 degrees Celsius for 12 hours and maintaining the heat stable chocolate at 24 degrees Celsius at 12 hours,

wherein the main endotherm melt peak position is measured by Differential Scanning Calorimetry by heating samples of 40 +/- 4 mg of heat stable chocolate from 30 degrees Celsius to 65 degrees Celsius at a rate of 3 degrees Celsius per minute to produce a melting thermogram defining said endotherm melt peak position.

According to a still further embodiment of the invention the heat stable chocolate comprises lecithin.

Said fat phase may be present in various amounts of the heat stable chocolate.

According to a still even further embodiment of the invention said heat stable chocolate comprises 20 - 60 % by weight of said fat phase, such as 20 - 50 % by weight of said fat phase.

The heat stable chocolate may optionally comprise a further milk fat phase in addition to said fat phase. According to the present invention, the heat stable chocolate comprises said fat phase. Some heat stable chocolates according to embodiments of the invention comprises a further milk fat phase, however, no further fat phases are comprised.

According to an embodiment of the invention said heat stable chocolate further comprises a milk fat phase comprising milk fat.

However, the heat stable chocolate is free of any further fat phase apart from said fat phase and the optional milk fat phase. Thus, all fats other than milk fat, if any, are part of said fat phase. Moreover, the invention relates to a method of producing a heat stable chocolate, said method comprising the steps of:

triglycerides in an amount of 60 - 100 % by weight of said fat phase,

Sat(C 16-C24)OSat(C16-C24) triglycerides in an amount of 30.0 - 99.5 % by weight of said fat phase, wherein Sat(C16-C24) stands for a C16 - C24 saturated fatty acid and O stands for oleic acid,

b) adjusting the temperature of said chocolate composition to 25-39 degrees Celsius, c) adding crystalline seed in an amount of 0.1 -15% by weight of said fat phase during stirring to produce a seeded chocolate composition, and

Adding the Sat(C 16-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides in such a way that the chocolate composition of step a) comprises said Sat(C 16-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides may be advantageous since this may ensure effective dispersing of the Sat(C 16-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides in the final seeded chocolate composition and the resulting heat stable chocolate, whereby the bloom resistance may be uniform for all of the chocolate.

According to an embodiment of the invention the heat stable chocolate is free of sorbitan-tri-esters of stearate, or free of sorbitan-tri-esters and/or palmitate.

According to a further embodiment of the invention the step of adding crystalline seed involves adding less than 5 % by weight, if any, of the total amount of Sat(C 16- C24)Sat(C 18-C24)0 and Sat(C18-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides, wherein Sat(C 18-C24) stands for a CI 8 - C24 saturated fatty. According to a still further embodiment of the invention the heat stable chocolate is the heat stable chocolate of the invention or any of its embodiments.

According to a still even further embodiment said chocolate composition is melted prior to step b).

According to a further embodiment said chocolate composition is a tempered chocolate composition. According to an even further embodiment said method comprises a tempering step.

Furthermore, the invention relates to uses of the heat stable chocolate of the invention or any of its embodiments or the heat stable chocolate produced by the method of the invention or any of its embodiments for molding, coating, enrobing or filling applications.

Still further, the invention relates to uses of Sat(C16-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0

triglycerides, wherein Sat(C16-C24) stands for a C16 - C24 saturated fatty acid and O stands for oleic acid, for making heat stable chocolate, such as the heat stable chocolate of the invention or any of its embodiments.

EXAMPLES

The invention is now illustrated by way of examples.

Example 1 - Milk chocolates

Table 1 show triglyceride composition of a shea stearin fraction and a sal stearin fraction, respectively.

Table 2 displays the triglyceride composition of bloom retarding components 1 and 2 (BR components 1 and 2). In the present examples, the bloom retarding components 1 and 2 are based on fractions from chemical inter-esterification of shea stearin and sal stearin, respectively.

Milk chocolate of reference-, comparative- and inventive compositions.

Tables 3 show the recipes and the fat compositions for milk chocolates I- VI (MC I- VI).

Milk chocolates I, II, and III were each hand tempered on marble table and used to produce 20 gram chocolate bars. The molten milk chocolates IV, V, and VI were each stirred at 33 degrees Celsius in an open bowl.

The crystalline seed is provided as a seed slurry manufactured by processing a crystalline seed of example 3 into a seed slurry. In more detail, the crystalline seed is transformed into a slurry like state at 39 degrees Celsius with a mean particle size of approximately 10-20 micrometer, was added to the chocolates and mixed for 10 minutes. Thereafter, the chocolates were poured into 20 gram chocolate bar molds.

The molds were subsequently cooled in a three-zone cooling tunnel for a total of 30 minutes, first 10 minutes at a temperature of 15 degrees Celsius, followed by 10 minutes at a temperature at 12 degrees Celsius, followed by 10 minutes at a temperature of 15 degrees Celsius. Weight percentages in tables 3 refer to the total recipe, to the fat composition, to the fat phase excluding the milk fat phase (with no seed added), and to the fat composition of crystalline seed. Generally, the following abbreviations are used in the examples:

Sat20Sat2 = Sat(C18-C24)OSat(C18-C24) triglycerides.

Sat2Sat20 = Sat(C18-C24)Sat(C18-C24)0 triglycerides.

"Ratio StOSt/SatOSat" denotes the weight-ratio between StOSt triglycerides and SatOSat triglycerides.

"Ratio Sat20Sat2/SatOSat" denotes the weight-ratio between Sat20Sat2 triglycerides and SatOSat triglycerides.

"Ratio Sat2Sat20/SatOSat" denotes the weight-ratio between Sat2Sat20 triglycerides and SatOSat triglycerides.

Table 1: Triglyceride composition of shea stearin, the enzymatically prepared StOSt source and the used Sal Stearin source. Fat composition BR BR

component 1 component 2

SatOSat (% w/w) 25.2 27.7

SatSatO (% w/w) 50.5 55.4

POP (% w/w) <0.1 <0.1

PPO (% w/w) <0.1 <0.1

POSt (% w/w) 2.0 2.2

PStO + StPO (% w/w) 4.1 4.4

StOSt (% w/w) 21.9 18.5

StStO (% w/w) 43.8 37.0

StOA (% w/w) 1.1 6.1

StAO + AStO (% w/w) 2.3 12.3

AOA (% w/w) 0.1 0.8

AAO (% w/w) 0.2 1.7

Sat20Sat2* (% w/w) 23.1 25.5

Sat2Sat20** (% w/w) 46.3 50.9

Ratio StOSt/SatOSat 0.87 0.67

Ratio Sat20Sat2/SatOSat 0.92 0.92

Ratio SatSatO/SatOSat 2.00 2.00

Ratio Sat2Sat20/SatOSat 1.84 1.84

Table 2: Triglyceride composition of the bloom retarding component 1 and 2 based on fractions from chemical inter esterification of shea stearin and sal stearin, respectively.

Recipe MC I MC II MC III MC IV MC V MC VI (in % w/w) (ref.) (comp.) (comp.) (comp.)

Seed - - - 1.0 1.0 1.0

Shea Stearin - 4.0 2.0 4.0 2.0 2.0

BR

- - 2.0 - 2.0 - component 1

BR

- - - - - 2.0 component 2

Cocoa butter 16.6 12.6 12.6 11.6 11.6 11.6

Cocoa mass 12.9 12.9 12.9 12.9 12.9 12.9

Sugar 49.5 49.5 49.5 49.5 49.5 49.5

Whole milk

15.7 15.7 15.7 15.7 15.7 15.7 powder

Skim milk

4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.9 powder

Lecithin 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4

Table 3 (part 1 of 4): Recipes and fat compositions for milk chocolates.

Table 3 continued:

Table 3 (part 2 of 4): Recipes and fat compositions for milk chocolates Table 3 continued:

Table 3 (part 3 of 4): Recipes and fat compositions for milk chocolates Table 3 continued:

Table 3 (part 4 of 4): Recipes and fat compositions for milk chocolates

Table 3: Recipes and the fat compositions for the dark chocolates. Ratios are not given in %, but as fractions between 0 and 1.

The total fat content in the recipe is calculated as the sum of CB, shea stearin, BR component 1, BR component 2, seed slurry, fat content of the cocoa mass (approx. 56% cocoa butter in cocoa mass), milk fat and the fat content of skim milk powder.

As can be seen from table 3, no emulsifiers other than lecithin have been added to any of chocolates I- VI, i.e. chocolates I- VI are free of e.g. sorbitan esters.

Example 2 - Bloom resistance of chocolate bars of milk chocolate After 7 days storage at 20 degrees Celsius chocolate bars from example 1 were placed in a programmable temperature cabinet and subjected to heat treatment at a high temperature for 12 hours followed by a low temperature for 12 hours. This heat treatment was performed either once or five consecutive times. The high temperatures were between 34 to 37 +/- 0.3 degrees Celsius and the low temperatures were between 20 to 24 +/- 0.3 degrees Celsius.

The chocolate bars were examined for bloom after one heat treatment.

Table 4 illustrates the test result in respect of bloom effect observed for milk chocolate bars of example 1, table 3, after one heat treatment under different high- and low temperature settings.

Table 4: Bloom on milk chocolate samples

"+ + " denotes a glossy and un-bloomed chocolate surface

"+ " denotes a dull but un-bloomed chocolate surface

"- " denotes a bloomed chocolate surface The data in Table 4 show that Milk Chocolates V and VI exhibit a glossy and un- bloomed chocolate surface after heat treatment under all tested conditions, whereas the reference Milk Chocolate I exhibit a bloomed chocolate surface after one heat treatment regardless of the tested temperatures, except the 34-24 degrees Celsius treatment.

The comparative Milk Chocolate II displays a bloomed chocolate surface after one heat treatment of most temperatures, and only having glossy surface after the 34-24 degrees Celsius treatment.

The Milk Chocolates III-IV performs a little better, but still shows a bloomed chocolate surface after one heat treatment of 37-24 degrees Celsius or 36-24 degrees Celsius. Additionally, Milk Chocolate IV shows a bloomed chocolate after one heat treatment of 35-24 degrees Celsius, whereas Milk Chocolate III shows a dull chocolate surface after one heat treatment of 36-20 degrees Celsius.

Clearly, Milk Chocolate V and VI display enhanced bloom resistance when compared to Milk Chocolate I, II, III and IV.

Furthermore, selections of the un-bloomed chocolate bars of milk chocolates V and VI after one and five consecutive heat treatments at 37 - 24 degrees Celsius were placed in bloom cabinets for bloom tests. The samples were tested under isothermal temperature conditions of 20 and 25 degrees Celsius.

Table 5 illustrates the test result in respect of bloom effect observed for the milk chocolate bars after one and five consecutive heat treatments at 37 - 24 degrees Celsius stored at 20 and 25 degrees Celsius isothermal condition. MC V MC VI

Number of weeks until first appearance of bloom

One heat cycle of 37 - 24 degrees Celsius heat treatment

25 degrees Celsius

>12 weeks >20 weeks

isotherm.

Five heat cycles of 37 - 24 degrees Celsius heat treatments

25 degrees Celsius

>12 weeks >20 weeks

isotherm.

Table 5: Bloom data for milk chocolate samples after heat cycle treatments followed by isothermal storage.

The data in table 5 show that samples of Milk Chocolate V and VI are resistant to bloom formation for at least 12 weeks and 20 weeks, respectively after one and five consecutive heat cycle treatment followed by isothermal storage at 25 degrees Celsius.

Example 3 - Crystalline seed

A crystalline seed in the form of seed flakes were produced from Shea Stearin IV 36. The Shea Stearin IV 36 was subjected to a crystallization zone, where the crystallization zone was provided in a Scraped Surface Heat Exchanger. The Scraped Surface Heat Exchanger has an initial feed tank, from where the Shea Stearin IV 36 was fed through three subsequent temperature zones, Al, A2, and A3. The parameters and settings of the Scraped Surface Heat Exchanger and measured slurry temperatures are listed in table 6.

Settings of the Scraped Surface Heat Exchanger

Feed tank temperature (degrees Celsius) 62.3

Product flow (kilogram per hour) 80

Total retention time in Scraped Surface Heat Exchanger 25.8

Scraped Surface Heat Exchanger rotational speed (Rotations per

800 minute)

Temperature of cooling jacket of Al (degrees Celsius) 10

Slurry temperature at outlet from Al (degrees Celsius) 29.3

Temperature of cooling jacket of A2 (degrees Celsius) 0

Slurry temperature at outlet from A2 (degrees Celsius) 22.6

Temperature of cooling jacket of A3 (degrees Celsius) Off / 20

Slurry temperature at outlet from A3 (degrees Celsius) 25.7

Table 6: Settings of the Scraped Surface Heat Exchanger. Note that "Off denotes no active temperature control in the given step, where ambient temperature was about 20 degrees Celsius. The obtained product from the Scraped Surface Heat Exchanger was subjected to a transformation zone to obtain a transformed edible fat. The transformation zone comprised a transformation tank, a stirrer, and a temperature controller. The crystallization zone was operated according to the parameters and settings as given in table 7.

Table 7: Settings of the Transformation Zone.

The transformed edible fat extracted from the transformation zone output was subjected to particulation in a particulation zone to obtain samples of crystalline seed in the form of seed flakes. The particulation zone comprised a drum having a controllable drum surface temperature. The particulation zone was operated according to the parameters and settings as given in table 8.

Table 8: Settings of the particulation zone.

Claims

1. A heat stable chocolate comprising a fat phase, said fat phase of said heat stable chocolate comprising: triglycerides in an amount of 60 - 100 % by weight of said fat phase,

Sat(C 16-C24)OSat(C16-C24) triglycerides in an amount of 30.0 - 99.5 % by weight of said fat phase, wherein Sat(C 16-C24) stands for a C16 - C24 saturated fatty acid and O stands for oleic acid,

Sat(C 16-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides in an amount of 0.5 - 20.0 % by weight of said fat phase, crystalline seed in an amount of 0.1 - 15% by weight of said fat phase, wherein said crystalline seed comprises SatOSat-triglycerides in an amount of 40- 100%) by weight of said crystalline seed, wherein Sat stands for a saturated fatty acid, wherein an endotherm melt peak position of said crystalline seed is about 40 degrees Celsius or higher when measured by Differential Scanning Calorimetry by heating samples of 40 +/- 4 mg of crystalline seed from 30 degrees Celsius to 65 degrees Celsius at a rate of 3 degrees Celsius per minute to produce a melting thermogram defining said endotherm melt peak position, wherein the heat stable chocolate is free of sorbitan-tri-esters of stearate.

2. The heat stable chocolate according to claim 1,

wherein said fat phase comprises Sat(C16-C24)Sat(C18-C24)0 and/or Sat(C18-

C24)Sat(C 16-C24)0 triglycerides in a combined amount of 0.5 - 20.0 % by weight of said fat phase, such as 0.8 - 15.0 % by weight of said fat phase, such as 1.0 - 10.0 % by weight of said fat phase,

wherein Sat(C16-C24) stands for a C16 - C24 saturated fatty acid, Sat(C18-C24) stands for a C18 - C24 saturated fatty acid, and O stands for oleic acid.

3. The heat stable chocolate according to claim 1 or 2,

wherein said fat phase comprises Sat(C18-C24)Sat(C18-C24)0 an amount of 0.5 - 20.0 % by weight of said fat phase, such as 0.8 - 15.0 % by weight of said fat phase, such as 1.0 - 10.0 % by weight of said fat phase,

wherein Sat(C18-C24) stands for a CI 8 - C24 saturated fatty acid, and O stands for oleic acid.

4. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-3, wherein said fat phase comprises triglycerides selected from StStO triglycerides, StAO triglycerides, AStO triglycerides, and combinations thereof in an amount of 0.5 - 20.0 % by weight of said fat phase.

5. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-4, wherein said fat phase has a weight-ratio between

- triglycerides having CI 8 - C24 saturated fatty acids in the sn-1 and sn-3 positions of the triglyceride and oleic acid in the sn-2 position of the triglyceride, and

6. The heat stable chocolate according to claim 5, wherein said weight-ratio between triglycerides having CI 8 - C24 saturated fatty acids in the sn-1 and sn-3 positions of the triglyceride and oleic acid in the sn-2 position of the triglyceride, and

is obtained by adding a cocoa butter improver, such as a shea stearin based cocoa butter improver and/or sal stearin based cocoa butter improver.

7. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-6, wherein said fat phase has a weight-ratio between

- triglycerides having C16 - CI 8 saturated fatty acids in the sn-1 and sn-3 positions of the triglyceride and oleic acid in the sn-2 position of the triglyceride,

which is between 0.37 and 0.99, such as between 0.37 and 0.95, or such as between 0.40 and 0.99, such as between 0.40 and 0.95, such as between 0.40 and 0.90, such as between 0.40 and 0.80, such as between 0.40 and 0.70, such as between 0.40 and 0.60, such as between 0.40 and 0.50.

8. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-7, wherein said fat phase has a weight-ratio between

- triglycerides having a C16 - C24 saturated fatty acid in the sn-1 and sn-2 positions of the triglyceride, and oleic acid in the sn-3 position of the triglyceride, and

triglycerides having C16 - C24 saturated fatty acids in the sn-1 and sn-3 positions of the triglyceride and oleic acid in the sn-2 position of the triglyceride, which is between 0.01 and 0.30, such as between 0.02 and 0.25, such as between 0.02 and 0.20, such as between 0.02 and 0.15.

9. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-8, wherein said fat phase has a weight-ratio between

triglycerides having a C16 - C24 saturated fatty acid in the sn-1 position of the triglyceride and CI 8 - C24 saturated fatty acid in the sn-2 position of the triglyceride, or vice versa, and oleic acid in the sn-3 position of the triglyceride, and

- triglycerides having C16 - C24 saturated fatty acids in the sn-1 and sn-3 positions of the triglyceride and oleic acid in the sn-2 position of the triglyceride,

10. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-9, wherein said fat phase has a weight-ratio between

11. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-10, wherein said fat phase comprises Sat(C16-C24)OSat(C16-C24) triglycerides in an amount of 30.0 - 99.0 % by weight of said fat phase, such as 60.0 - 95.0 % by weight.

12. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-11, wherein said fat phase comprises StOSt-triglycerides in an amount of 0.1 - 50.0% by weight of said fat phase, such as such as 20 - 50% by weight, such as 25-45% by weight, wherein St stands for stearic acid and O stands for oleic acid.

13. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-12, wherein said fat phase comprises Sat(C16-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides in an amount of 0.8 - 15.0 % by weight of said fat phase, such as 1.0 - 10.0 % by weight of said fat phase.

14. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-13, wherein said fat phase comprises triglycerides in an amount of 60.00 - 99.99 % by weight of said fat phase, such as 70 - 99% by weight, such as 80 - 99% by weight.

15. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-14, said fat phase comprises crystalline seed in an amount of 0.2 - 12 % by weight of said fat phase, such as 0.3 - 10 % by weight, such as 0.5 - 10 % by weight.

16. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-15, wherein said crystalline seed comprises SatOSat-triglycerides in an amount of 40.0-99.9%) by weight of said crystalline seed, such as 50 - 99% by weight, such as 60 - 99% by weight, such as 65-98% by weight.

17. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-16, wherein said crystalline seed comprises 40 - 99 % by weight of triglycerides having CI 8 - C24 saturated fatty acids in the sn-1 and sn-3 positions of the triglyceride and oleic acid in the sn-2 position of the triglyceride, such as 50 - 99 % by weight, such as 70 - 99 % by weight, such as 80 - 99 % by weight.

18. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-17, wherein said crystalline seed comprises StOSt-triglycerides, StOA-triglycerides, and AOA- triglycerides in a total amount of 40 - 99 % by weight the crystalline seed, such as 50 - 99 % by weight, such as 65 - 99 % by weight, wherein St stands for stearic acid, A stands for arachidic acid, and O stands for oleic acid.

19. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-18, wherein said crystalline seed comprises StOSt-triglycerides in an amount of 40 - 99 % by weight of said fat phase, such as 50 - 99 % by weight, such as 65 - 99 % by weight, wherein St stands for stearic acid and O stands for oleic acid.

20. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-19, wherein said crystalline seed has a weight-ratio between

triglycerides having CI 8 - C24 saturated fatty acids in the sn-1 and sn- 3 positions of the triglyceride and oleic acid in the sn-2 position of the triglyceride, and

21. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-20, wherein said crystalline seed has a weight-ratio between

22. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-21, wherein said endotherm melt peak position is 40- 70 degrees Celsius, such as 40- 60 degrees Celsius, such as 40 - 55 degrees Celsius, such as 40 - 50 degrees Celsius.

23. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-22, wherein said endotherm melt peak position is 40 degrees Celsius - 46 degrees Celsius.

24. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-23, wherein the endotherm melt peak position of said crystalline seed is 41 degrees Celsius or higher, such as 42 degrees Celsius or higher, such as 43 degrees Celsius or higher, when measured by Differential Scanning Calorimetry by heating samples of 40 +/- 4 mg of crystalline seed from 30 degrees Celsius to 65 at a rate of 3 degrees Celsius per minute to produce a melting thermogram.

25. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-24, wherein the endotherm melt peak position of said crystalline seed is about 44 degrees Celsius or higher, such as about 46 degrees Celsius or higher, such as about 47 degrees Celsius or higher or about 48 degrees Celsius or higher, when measured by Differential Scanning Calorimetry by heating samples of 40 +/- 4 mg of crystalline seed from 30 degrees Celsius to 65 at a rate of 3 degrees Celsius per minute to produce a melting thermogram.

26. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-25, wherein the endotherm melt peak position of said crystalline seed is about 50 degrees Celsius or higher, such as about 51 degrees Celsius or higher, such as about 52 degrees Celsius or higher or about 53 degrees Celsius or higher, when measured by Differential Scanning Calorimetry by heating samples of 40 +/- 4 mg of crystalline seed from 30 degrees Celsius to 65 at a rate of 3 degrees Celsius per minute to produce a melting thermogram.

27. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-26, wherein an endotherm melt peak position of said heat stable chocolate is about 37 degrees Celsius or higher, such as about 38 degrees Celsius or higher, when measured by Differential Scanning Calorimetry by heating samples of 40 +/- 4 mg of heat stable chocolate from 30 degrees Celsius to 65 degrees Celsius at a rate of 3 degrees Celsius per minute to produce a melting thermogram defining said endotherm melt peak position.

28. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-27, wherein said heat stable chocolate is free of sorbitan-tri-esters of stearate and/or palmitate.

29. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-28, wherein said heat stable chocolate is free of sorbitan esters.

30. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-29, wherein said heat stable chocolate is free of emulsifier not being lecithin.

31. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-30, wherein said Sat(C16- C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides comprises triglycerides obtained by

interesterification.

32. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-31, wherein said Sat(C16- C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides comprises triglycerides obtained from animal fat.

33. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-32, wherein the heat stable chocolate comprises lecithin.

34. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-33, wherein said heat stable chocolate comprises 20 - 60 % by weight of said fat phase, such as 20 - 50 % by weight of said fat phase.

35. The heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-34, wherein said heat stable chocolate further comprises a milk fat phase comprising milk fat.

36. A method of producing a heat stable chocolate, said method comprising the steps of:

triglycerides in an amount of 60 - 100 % by weight of said fat phase,

Sat(C 16-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides in an amount of 0.5 - 20.0 % by weight of said fat phase, b) adjusting the temperature of said chocolate composition to 25-39 degrees Celsius, c) adding crystalline seed in an amount of 0.1 -15% by weight of said fat phase during stirring to produce a seeded chocolate composition, and

37. The method according to claim 36, wherein the heat stable chocolate is free of sorbitan-tri-esters of stearate, or free of sorbitan-tri-esters and/or palmitate.

38. The method according to claim 36 or 37, wherein the step of adding crystalline seed involves adding less than 5 % by weight, if any, of the total amount of Sat(C 16- C24)Sat(C 18-C24)0 and Sat(C18-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides, wherein Sat(C 18-C24) stands for a CI 8 - C24 saturated fatty.

39. The method according to any of claims 36-38, wherein the heat stable chocolate is the heat stable chocolate according to any of claims 1-35.

40. The method according to any of claims 36-39, wherein said chocolate composition is melted prior to step b).

41. The method according to any of claims 36-40, wherein said chocolate composition is a tempered chocolate composition.

42. The method according to any of claims 36-41, wherein said method comprises a tempering step.

43. Use of the heat stable chocolate according to any of the claims 1-35 or the heat stable chocolate produced by the method according to any of the claims 36-42 for molding, coating, enrobing or filling applications.

44. Use of Sat(C16-C24)Sat(C16-C24)0 triglycerides, wherein Sat(C16-C24) stands for a C 16 - C24 saturated fatty acid and O stands for oleic acid, for making heat stable chocolate, such as the heat stable chocolate of claim 1-35.