The impact of sunflower and rapeseed lecithin on the rheological properties of spreadable cocoa cream

• Utilization of by-products – sunflower and rapeseed lecithin as emulsifiers.
• Different viscosity and phospholipid composition of lecithins.
• Impact on rheological properties of the cream fat phase and final product.
• 0.5% of soy and rapeseed lecithin or 0.7% of sunflower lecithin.
• 40-min milling time.

The rheological properties of spreadable cocoa cream containing lecithin of different origins (sunflower, rapeseed and soy lecithin) were investigated within this research. A laboratory ball mill was used to produce creams containing varying amounts of lecithin (0.3, 0.5 and 0.7 wt%). The effect of milling time was also studied (between 30, 40 and 50 min).Comparison between the different origins of lecithin revealed sunflower lecithin to be lower in viscosity than soy or rapeseed lecithin. Sunflower and rapeseed lecithins have a higher phosphatidilcholine content than soy lecithin. Increasing the lecithin concentration decreased the crystallization rate and increased the peak and conclusion temperatures in the cream fat phase. The type of lecithin used had no significant influence on the fat phase viscosity. It is found that the optimal rheological properties of spreadable cocoa cream can be achieved using 0.5 wt% of soy and rapeseed lecithin or 0.7 wt% of sunflower lecithin and 40-min milling time.