Reconsideration of polymorphic transformations in cocoa butter using the DSC

Cocoa butter was crystallized in the differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) in the presence and the absence of sorbitan monostearate at different cooling rates. The solidification and fusion curves were recorded. It was found that cooling rate affects enthalpies and temperatures of phase transitions. The very slow cooling rate causes a significant decrease in crystallization enthalpy, suggesting that fractionation of glycerides occurs under these conditions. In the presence of sorbitan monostearate 5%, cooling and heating curves of cocoa butter are sharper, the solidification point is higher and the fusion point is slightly lower. Further, in the presence of sorbitan monostearate both crystallization and fusion enthalpies are lower than in pure cocoa butter. The presence of the emulsifier seems mainly to promote the fractional crystallization. Fusion curves after different periods of isothermal crystallization suggest that higher polymorphic forms differ in chemical composition from lower ones, and that the presence of sorbitan monostearate affects the fractionation in the fat.