Cocoa butter, also known as cocoa butter, is a milky yellow hard natural vegetable oil extracted from cocoa liquid, and is a very unique oil. In addition to its strong and beautiful unique flavor, cocoa butter also has quite solid and brittle properties below 15 ℃. Cocoa butter melts quickly in your mouth and does not feel greasy at all; And unlike other general vegetable oils, it is prone to rancidity. Cocoa butter is an ideal special fat for chocolate, which has almost all the advantages of various vegetable fats. Now, no other fat comparable to it has been found.
Cocoa butter is mainly composed of 98% triglyceride, 1% free fatty acid, 0.3% diglyceride, 0.2% monoglyceride, 150mg/kg~250mg/kg tocopherol and 0.05%~0.13% phospholipid, among which triglyceride is the main component of cocoa butter.
The cocoa butter has the unique flavor of cocoa, and has a very short plastic range. Below 27 ℃, it is almost all solid (27.7 ℃ begins to melt). With the increase of temperature, it will melt rapidly and completely at 35 ℃. Therefore, it is a kind of grease with hardness and fast dissolution. Cocoa butter is the most stable edible oil known. It contains natural antioxidants that can prevent deterioration. It can be stored for 2 to 5 years and can be used for purposes other than food.
Cocoa butter is mainly used to make chocolate in western pastries, and dilute thicker and drier chocolate products. Adding an appropriate amount of cocoa butter to chocolate with low cocoa butter content can improve the consistency of chocolate, enhance the brightness effect of chocolate after dipping and demoulding, and make its texture fine.
The glycerides in cocoa butter coexist in many types, resulting in the formation of polycrystalline properties. The melting point of cocoa butter depends on its crystal form. The temperature-regulating process in chocolate processing is the process of making cocoa butter melt form stable cocoa butter crystal structure when it is cooled.
Cocoa butter has α, γ, β',  And β Crystallization, melting point 17, 23, 26, and 35 – 37 ° C respectively. Chocolate is usually made from the highest melting point β  Crystallization, and single crystal structure will make the texture fine and smooth.