Formation of dark chocolate fats with improved heat stability and desirable miscibility by blending cocoa butter with mango kernel fat stearin and hard palm-mid fraction

Softening and fat bloom are serious quality defects for dark chocolates, which mainly results from insufficient melting characteristics of cocoa butter (CB) and more likely to occur in countries with warm and hot climates. Mango kernel fat stearin (MKFS) and hard palm-mid fraction (HPMF) share similar triacylglycerol structure to CB. They can hopefully be used to improve both heat and bloom stabilities, making them suitable for use in hot climates. In the present study, chocolate fats blended with 70% CB, 25–30% MKFS, and 0–5% HPMF contributed to forming miscible triacylglycerol compositions containing 35.6–39.1% 1,3-distearoyl-2-oleoyl-glycerol, 34.0% 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-3-stearoyl-glycerol, and 12.4–16.0% of 1,3-dipalmitoyl-2-oleoyl-glycerol. Such desirable compositions made the fats significantly harder than CB. Their melting points ranged from 29.0 to 29.4 to 40.3–40.7 °C; in contrast, CB melted from 27.5 to 38.1 °C. The prepared fats and CB exhibited desirable β crystals through tempering, which is consistent with the results of microstructure, forming featherlike crystals. These attributes may help in formulating dark chocolates with improved heat and fat bloom stabilities.