Composition of white chocolate

Primary chocolate categories are dark, milk and white that differs in content of cocoa solids, milk fat and cocoa butter.

White Chocolate shall contain, on a dry matter basis, not less than 20% cocoa butter and not less than 14%milk solids (including a minimum milk fat in a range of 2.5% to 3.5% as applied by the authority having jurisdiction in accordance with applicable legislation).

"Milk solids" refers to the addition of milk ingredients in their natural proportions, except that milk fat may be added, or removed.

White chocolate contains:
• cocoa butter
• milk
• sweetener
• no chocolate liquor White chocolates contained cocoa butter with no cocoa liquor. Hence, phenolic content and its compounds in white chocolates are lower than other chocolates.

U.S. standards require white chocolate to be
• 20% cocoa butter by weight
• at least 14% total milk solids
• less than 55% sweeteners

Milk in different forms is used in combination with cocoa and sugar to make milk chocolate and white chocolate. Starting from liquid milk, a number of different ingredients can be made. Milk solids have undoubtedly been responsible for the great increase in the consumption of white chocolate. These solids have commonly been used in the enhancement of nutritional and technological qualities of another wide range of different foods as well as in adding the desired flavor to them.
Composition of white chocolate

Cocoa polyphenols

Cocoa and cocoa products, namely cocoa liquor, cocoa powder and chocolates (milk and dark chocolates) may present varied polyphenol contents and possess different levels of antioxidant potentials.

Fresh cocoa beans contain about 32–39% water, 30–32% fat, 10–15% protein, 5–6% polyphenols, 4–6% pentosans, 2–3% cellulose, 2–3% sucrose, 1–2% theobromine, 1% acids and less than 1% caffeine. It is also a rich source of mineral components.

The polyphenols in cocoa beans could contribute to about 12-18% of the dry weight of the whole bean.

The content and composition of polyphenols differs depending on the genotype, origin, growth conditions, degree of ripeness of the cocoa fruit and the grain processing parameters.

Studies indicated that dark chocolate exhibited the highest polyphenol content, with 610 mg total catechins/kg of fresh edible weight. With advancements in technology, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) had been utilized in the determination of polyphenol compounds in cocoa.

Main classes of polyphenolic compounds identified are such as simple phenols, benzoquinones, phenolic acids, acetophenones, phenylacetic acids, hydroxycinnamic acids, phenylpropenes, coumarines, chromones, naphtoquinones, xanthones, stilbenes, anthraquinones, flavonoids, lignans and lignins. Three main groups of cocoa polyphenols can be distinguished namely the catechins (37%), anthocyanins (4%) and proanthocyanidins (58%).

The brown and purple color of the cocoa bean was attributed to the complex alteration products of catechin and tannin. Beside these compounds, cocoa was found to have leucoanthocyanins that are present as glycosides.

Phenolic antioxidants have been shown to inhibit the oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and mounting evidence suggests that it is the oxidized form of LDL that leads to the buildup of fatty plaques in arteries.

Some other the beneficial effects of polyphenols are such as anti-carcinogenic, anti-atherogenic, anti-ulcer, anti-thrombotic, anti-inflammatory, immune modulating, anti-microbial, vasodilatory and analgesic effect.

Epicatechin and other flavonoids not only have a direct antioxidant effect, but they may also have a sparing effect on other antioxidants such as Vitamin C and E.
Cocoa polyphenols

Chemical composition of cocoa beans

The beans are contained in a pod called the shell or husk and while they are in the pod, they are suspended in a viscous material - the pulp.

The alkaloid constituents of the cocoa beans, the bromine and caffeine, have been subjects of considerable publicity of recent years because of their supposed connection with migraines, hypertension and other health problems.

Proteins represent about 60% of the total nitrogen of fermented beans and constitute 10-15% of the dry weight of coca seeds, which are the second most abundant constituent after the cocoa fat. The nonprotein nitrogen is found as amino acid, about 0.3% in amide form, and 0.02% as ammonia, which is formed during fermentation of the beans.

The total fat content of the whole cocoa bean in a dry basis is approximate 50%, The composition of total lipid extract from cocoa beans was 98% of neutral lipids and 2% of polar lipids.

Cocoa beans products posses a unique chemical composition, half of which just coca butter which in turn is composed of stearic acid, oleic palmitic and linolenic acids. Approximately 15% of the dry weight of the cocoa beans is composed of polyphenols.

The kind and amount of organic acids contained in cocoa banns depend on the maturation and fermentation stages. The most common organic acids are citric, oxalic, malice, acetic and formic. The most important is acetic acid because of its influence on the state of cocoa.
Chemical composition of cocoa beans

What is cocoa butter?

Cocoa butter is an important ingredient for chocolate and other confectionary products, having a major influence on the organoleptic and physical properties.

It is the most expensive ingredient and accounts for one third of the cost of the final product.

Cocoa butter is derived from the cocoa bean, the seed of the Theobroma tree, principally grown in South America and West Africa.

Once the shell has been removed from the seed, the remaining nib contains approximately 55% fat. Mature cocoa beans can store up to 700 mg of cocoa butter. Since a tree may produce as many as 2000 seeds a year, a single tree could yield up to 15 kg of cocoa butter annually.

The solvent extraction of cocoa butter has been developed and perfected over many years. In Holland, Dutch-extracted cocoa butter obtained reputation as a reliable article of commerce in the chocolate industry.

Cocoa butter is composed predominantly of (more than 75%) symmetrical triglycerides with oleic acid in the 2-position.

Approximately 20% of triglycerides are liquid at room temperature and cocoa butter has a melting range of 32 to 35 °C and softens at around 30 to 32 °C.
What is cocoa butter?

Composition of Cocoa Bean

Composition of Cocoa Bean
The coca bean is composed chiefly of fat, this ingredient amounting to fully 50 percent and often a larger percentage of the total weight.

The next most important ingredient is the protein or nitrogenous elements, including the theobromine and caffeine, which exist in small quantities in the bean.

Starches and sugars together form from 20 to 25 percent of the weight of the bean.

In round numbers the ash amounts to 4 percent and the theobromine to about 1 percent.

Various analysts, however, give very wide differences in the content of theobromine, some rising to as much as 2.5 percent and others falling to as little as five-tenth of 1 percent.

From the above data it will be seen that chocolate has a real food value.

The chief food value of the cocoa beams resides of course in the fat. Owing to the high caloric power of fat, cocoa furnished a very large amount of heat and energy. The digestible protein and the starch and sugar add no mean value to cocoa as a food.

In as much as the whole mass is mixed with the drink, all of the nutrient portions become available for the sustenance of the body.
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If in the preparation of the beverage milk and sugar are added the food value of course, is increased to that degree.

Theobromine, which is the principal active alkaloid of the cacao bean, is much less objectionable if foods that its first cousin, caffeine.

Theobromine and its isomer, theophyllin, do not exert so powerful a stimulating influence as caffeine, and hence for this reason cocoa is preferable to tea or coffee.
Composition of Cocoa Bean

Composition of Cocoa Beans

Composition of Cocoa Beans
The general composition of cocoa beans from various sources is similar.

With properly fermented mature beans the variations is relatively small but immature, badly fermented and sometimes intermediate beans have higher shell and lower cocoa butter contents.

The available nib content and hence the cocoa butter, is the factor that should be used to compare the real values of different consignments of beans.

The cleanliness of the outer shell affects the ash content and the microbial counts.

The shell is virtually a waste material as far as the manufacture of cocoa and chocolate is concerned.

Cocoa butter, the natural fat of the nib, is the most costly constituent, although at times powdered cocoa has attained a high value, especially for the manufacture of coatings.

The quality of cocoa beans is determined by the “cut test”, together with flavor of the chocolate made from the beans.

The alkaloid constituents of the cocoa beans, theobromine and caffeine, have been subjects of considerable publicity of recent years because of their supposed connection with migraine, hypertension, and other health problems.
Composition of Cocoa Beans