Cocoa butter is a natural fat found in cocoa beans.

Cocoa butter substitutes generally use a hydrogenation process to achieve the taste, texture and texture of cocoa butter. This hydrogenated vegetable oil contains a large amount of trans fatty acids, and trans fatty acids can cause Many foreign countries have begun to restrict the use of trans fatty acids due to various diseases such as coronary heart disease and venous sclerosis.

Cocoa butter substitute is made from palm kernel hard fat obtained from selected palm kernel oil through high-tech cooling and separation. It is then refined through special hydrogenation and rapid cooling.

Generally speaking, the greater the concentration of cocoa butter, the more delicious the chocolate will taste. However, pure cocoa butter is extracted from cocoa fruits, which is expensive and not easy to store at room temperature, so some agents are added. Cocoa butter is used to improve the degree of coagulation and reduce costs. However, the addition of cocoa butter substitutes is standard. Generally, some very cheap chocolates that are unpalatable use all cocoa butter substitutes. If you want to know the quality of chocolate, just If you hold the chocolate in your hands, it will become soft quickly. It is made with a large amount of cocoa butter. Only pure cocoa butter can make rich chocolate.

The cocoa butter used in chocolate is an extracted product of the natural cocoa fruit. It has a mellow and smooth taste and the characteristics of even and orderly melting in the mouth (the melting point of cocoa butter is 33 degrees Celsius), and is accompanied by a rich flavor. cocoa aroma. Many people are afraid of cocoa butter when they hear it is a lipid. In fact, cocoa butter is an unsaturated fatty acid, which helps control cholesterol levels and prevent cardiovascular diseases.

The structure of substituted cocoa butter is very different from that of natural cocoa butter. It is a very complex fatty acid.

Cocoa butter substitutes have a poor taste, no fragrance, and usually have a higher melting point than cocoa butter.

In addition, hydrogenated oil is a type of trans fatty acid. Trans fatty acids (TFAS) are formed by adding hydrogen to vegetable oil during heating and other processes. The latest international research has found that TFAS may cause an increase in human cholesterol, have a potential impact on fetal weight and type II diabetes, and may even be one of the causes of Alzheimer's disease.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an order across the United States requiring the content of trans fatty acids to be labeled on nutrition labels of traditional foods and dietary supplements to alert consumers. Because the harm of trans fatty acids to the human body is potential and gradual, experts also call these cocoa butter substitute chocolates "chronic killers."

For example, "Mr. Banana" produced by Nestlé, many people like to eat the banana-flavored "chocolate" crispy skin wrapped around it, but in fact there is no cocoa butter in the yellow crispy skin. , we only found edible vegetable oil as the main ingredient; KITKAT chocolate chip cookies produced by Nestlé, the slogan "Let's take a break?" is a household name, and its main ingredients are clearly marked with The substitute is cocoa butter (refined palm oil) instead of cocoa butter.

my country's new "Chocolate and Chocolate Products" standard promulgated in 2004 stipulates that the content of non-cocoa fat should be less than 5%; the minimum limit of cocoa butter in chocolate, white chocolate should not be less than 20% , dark chocolate is not less than 18%.

The aroma of chocolate mainly comes from cocoa products, which include cocoa butter, cocoa liquor and cocoa powder. The silky feeling of chocolate comes from (cocoa) products and the other from to its processing technology.

For example, the ingredients marked on the product labels of some companies are refined sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, phospholipids, cocoa powder, and vanillin. So what are the actual ingredients we investigated? The actual ingredients are cocoa butter substitute, cocoa powder, milk essence, starch, and sugar. He added 35% cocoa butter substitute, and the ingredients in his entire recipe were 35%. According to the new standard, county grain does not exceed 5%, which is equivalent to exceeding 30%. There is no added cocoa butter in his entire formula, not at all.

The current price of cocoa butter per ton on the market is about 30,000 yuan; cocoa butter substitutes can range from 6,700 to 15,000 yuan, depending on the grade and variety.

Since cocoa beans, the main raw material of chocolate, are produced near the equator, the cocoa used in pure chocolate produced by regular enterprises is imported from abroad, combining cocoa butter, cocoa powder and milk powder, white sugar, lactose, butter After being mixed evenly in a certain proportion, the density is reduced to less than 35 microns through roller-free grinding, and after special processes such as homogenization and tempering, delicate, smooth and delicious chocolate can be produced. According to the new national standards for chocolate and chocolate products implemented on July 1, 2004, raw materials such as starch are not allowed to be added to pure chocolate.

In the ingredient list of regular companies, there is an item called vegetable oil, which is cocoa butter substitute. Why add cocoa butter substitute? Cocoa butter substitute is not necessarily added to every product, because manufacturers are trying to adapt to sales in different regions. For example, in the south, because the melting point of cocoa butter is relatively low, it is easy to melt. The climate in the south is hotter, so it is suitable for the south. In this sales market, a little cocoa butter substitute should be appropriately added to the product formula to increase the melting point of the product to adapt to this market. However, after adding it, it must be no more than 5% in accordance with the new standards. In addition, it must be included in the packaging of the product. Expressly tell consumers that cocoa butter substitute or cocoa butter-like butter has been added. Generally speaking, formal companies do a better job of making this explicit.