Understanding plant based fat crystalization for the design of vegan and low carbon footprint chocolate

寻找可持续的食用脂肪来源最近已成为食品业，特别是巧克力行业的一个主要目标。满足消费者对素食产品的需求，寻找可可和棕榈油的低碳替代品，只是满足这种工业需求的几个原因。然而，寻找在味道、质地、口感和加工方面完全复制传统脂肪功能的新材料是具有挑战性的。事实上，巧克力的晶体结构对这种食品的感官特性有很大的影响，用于其配方的脂肪的类型和性质可能会极大地改变其结晶行为。在这个项目中，我们将重点了解用于生产素食/低碳足迹巧克力的相关植物性脂肪的结晶行为，特别是如何在不损失其负责的任何独特结晶行为的情况下从配方中去除牛奶脂肪。牛奶脂肪在巧克力中的作用尤其令人感兴趣，有几个假设围绕牛奶甘油三酯对可可脂(和可可脂等价物)中多态转化率的影响。然而，有必要理解。在开发有效的乳脂系统替代品时，这些假设中的哪一个最相关。在剪切下分析测量可可脂脂肪结晶的方法的最新进展的机会，以及乳脂，也可以进一步阐明乳脂功能是如何被其他系统模仿的。这些项目旨在更深入地了解牛奶中存在的特定甘油三酯对脂肪二元和三元混合结晶的影响，其中系统中与牛奶脂肪一起的其他脂肪是可可脂和/或可可脂的等价物。然后，这项研究将指示这种行为是否完全依赖于甘油三酯，或者是否可以使用其他靶向的甘油三酯来复制这种行为。这项研究的目标是使巧克力中的牛奶脂肪被甘油三酯系统取代，该系统在结晶行为方面仍然具有相同的好处。人们强烈认为，这就是短链脂肪酸甘油三酯在中断和延迟多态转变方面所起的作用，否则，这被视为推迟了脂肪在巧克力表面出现的时间。预计还需要考虑加工(回火和冷却)在取代乳脂的系统中的作用。

Finding sustainable sources of edible fats has recently become a major goal for the food industry and for the chocolate sector in particular. Meeting consumer demands for vegan products and finding low carbon alternatives for cocoa and palm oil are only few of the reasons for this industrial need. However, identifying new materials replicating exactly the functionality of traditional fats, in terms of taste, texture, mouthfeel and processing, is challenging. In fact, the crystal structure of chocolate has a strong effect on the organoleptic properties of this food product, and the type and nature of the fats used for its formulation might dramatically alter its crystallization behaviour. In this project, we will focus on understanding the crystallization behaviour of relevant plant-based fats for the production of vegan/low carbon footprint chocolate, and specifically how the removal of milk fat from a recipe can occur without losing any of the unique crystallisation behaviour it is responsible for. The role of milk fat in chocolate is of particular interest, with several hypotheses around the impact of milk triglycerides on polymorphic transition rates in cocoa butter (and cocoa butter equivalents). However, there is a need to understand. which of these hypotheses are most relevant when developing an effective milk fat system replacement. The opportunities to build on recent advances in methods to measure the crystallisation of cocoa butter-based fats are analysed under shear, alongside milk fat, could also further elucidate how milk fat functionality is mimicked by other systems. The projects aims to develop a deeper understanding of the role of specific triglycerides present in milk impact the crystallisation of binary and ternary blends of fats, where the other fats in the system alongside milk fat are cocoa butter and/or cocoa butter equivalents. This research would then instruct whether such behaviour is completely dependent on the triglycerides, or if the behaviour can be replicated using other targeted triglycerides. The goal of this research is to enable milk fat in chocolate to be replaced by a triglyceride system which still delivers the same benefits in crystallisation behaviour. This is strongly believed to be the role the shorter chain fatty acid triglycerides play in interrupting and delaying polymorphic transitions which is otherwise seen as a delay in the time taken for fat bloom to appear on the surface of the chocolate. It is expected that the role of processing (tempering and cooling) in a system where milk fat is replaced will also need to be considered.