Crystallization kinetics of cocoa butter in the presence of sorbitan esters

Cocoa butter crystallization in the presence of sorbitan mono- and triesters or canola oil was investigated. Solid-state surfactant esters accelerated early-stage cocoa butter solidification while suppressing later growth. Sorbitan tristearate showed the strongest effect, followed by sorbitan monostearate and sorbitan monopalmitate. Liquid-state surfactants suppressed cocoa butter crystallization at all time points, with sorbitan trioleate showing a stronger effect than sorbitan monooleate, which behaved in a similar fashion to canola oil. Via DSC, the palmitic and stearic-based surfactants only associated with cocoa butter's high-melting fraction, with the oleic acid-based surfactants and canola oil showing little influence. All sorbitan esters had little effect on polymorphism, whereas canola oil accelerated the form II-to-III-to-IV transition. The palmitic and stearic-based surfactants greatly reduced cocoa butter crystal size whereas the oleic acid-based surfactants and canola showed no notable effect. Overall, sorbitan esters impacted cocoa butter crystallization kinetics, though this depended on surfactant structure and concentration.